My local woods are just beginning to be blessed with the sight of Lily of the Valley in their hundreds
Lily of the Valley is a highly fragrant woodland flowering plant that belongs to the genus Convallaria. It is native to Europe and Asia but has been naturalized in North America and other regions. The plant produces delicate clusters of beautiful small, bell-shaped, white flowers that bloom in May.
Maybe you are more familiar with Lily of the Valley as an ornamental plant in gardens. But they are equally spectacular in woodlands when they can carpet the woodland floor.
,Its delicate flowers and sweet fragrance make it a popular choice for bridal bouquets and other floral arrangements.
In addition to its ornamental use, the Lily of the Valley has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. The plant contains cardiac glycosides, which have been used to treat heart conditions like congestive heart failure and arrhythmias. However, it should be noted that Lily of the Valley can be toxic if ingested in large amounts.
Submitted for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
Denzil Nature 
How marvellous! I’ve never seen lily of the valley in the wild, anywhere, though of course they’re a garden favourite.
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When they are out en masse I will add a photo. At the moment they are still mainly green with a few flowers here and there.
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Thanks!
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Good photographs and descriptions
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Thanks Derrick, the first ones are always a delight to see in early May.
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So pretty. Ours may bloom in June here in Wisconsin.
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They are so beautiful. We don’t have those here but would love to smell themš
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I’ll bottle the fragrance and send it over! ā
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Boy howdy do they carpet the ground! I’ve got them in at least 4 sections of my yard and hubby hates them because they swallow up whatever is in their path. But I love it when they blossom! That fragrance is so nice, especially with the windows open. Ours typically bloom in May too and though we are about two weeks behind “normal”, it looks like our lily of the valley are right on schedule. I’ve never thought to photograph them so you’ve given me some ideas with your lovely photos š
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Maybe photograph them when hubby isn’t looking? š š¤
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I love lily of the valleys. Gorgeous picture and info.
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Thanks Pat!
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I have never seen Lily of the valley before, only in photos. So beautiful!
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They are a splendid sight in the woods around here Aletta.
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I can imagine that! āŗļø
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Lovely captures!
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Thanks Philo!
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You are welcome, Denzil.
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Have a great Sunday!
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They are very pretty. They are a national flower in Finland, but here they bloom in June.
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Something to look forward to then!
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I was going to ask you if Lily of the Valley is related to Solomon’s Seal when I realized that’s what Google does, so I looked it up. It looks so much like lily of the valley, I couldn’t imagine they were not related.
It turns out that Solomon’s Seal is a close relative of Lily of the Valley and was formerly assigned to the same genus (Convallaria, now Liliaceae), with several similar species native to North America, northern Europe and Siberia, and cultivated as popular garden ornamentals.
Our Solomon’s Seal came out of the woods. I transplanted it to an area that got a bit more sun. It went from one plant to several hundred. I’ll have to post some stuff about them. They are among my favorite spring plants. All they needed was more sun and not being so crowded by other plants in the woods.
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I will look forward to your photos of Solomon’s Seal Marilyn. I actually found some Solomon’s Seal in the same woodland as these Lily of the Valley, but thought I would save them for the next Flower of the Day!
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They are up today. I’m off (ugh) to the dentist. Double ugh. Expensive and painful at the same time.
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“Sterkte” as they say over here in Dutch, which is a kind of hybrid of strength and courage.
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How beautiful. I have seen them here in England, only in gardens before. Though they are mentioned in my wildflowers book. Very pretty flowers. š
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They are nice in gardens but magical in the wild! Thanks for dropping by and commenting Shazza.
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In France, it became a tradition to present these to ladies on the 1st of May, after Charles IX first presented it to the ladies of his court, way back in the 16th century! My German friends always mention this plant and to be careful when I tell them that I forage for wild garlic (BƤrlauch) because the leaves look similar and I assure them that I always smell the leaf before collecting – and these do not smell like garlic š.
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I went to the forest the other day but I still didn’t see them as it is now May and they are called “Maiglƶckchen” here roughly translated as “May Little Bells”.
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