From the garden ELLEN PEFFLEY
Lily of the valley is the May birth flower. It is a sweet plant for the spring garden with its nodding, delicate, bell-shaped, white flowers that are borne on graceful, arching stems. The waxy flowers produce a sweet scent. Flowers last up to three weeks and when flowers are spent the glossy green leaves last into the summer.
Plants are perennial and in some areas can become invasive. As pretty as they are, all parts of Lily of the valley are poisonous.
Lily of the valley has one botanic name, Convallaria majalis, but several common names: May Lily, Lily Constancy, Ladder to Heaven, Male Lily, and Muguet. The genus name Convallaria (kon-va-LAH-ree-a) is Latin for valley and the species name majalis (mah-YAH-lis) is from the Latin meaning flowering in May.
Lily of the valley symbolizes the return of happiness. The legend that says it protects gardens from evil spirits is quite fitting, since it flowers in the spring and maybe chases away the cold days of winter.
Two other common names by which Lily of the valley is known are Our Lady’s Tears or Mary’s Tears. The names are descriptive of the pure white, nodding blossoms borne on the arching leaves that seem to illustrate the weeping of Mary, mother of Jesus, when her son was crucified. A second legend comes from the tears Eve shed when she was expelled from the Garden of Eden with Adam.
In a different religious legend, lily of the valley in German mythology symbolizes life to pagans as it is associated with Ostara, the virgin goddess of spring. The blooming of the lily refers to the feast day of Ostara, which was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox, almost the same calculation for Easter (learnreligions.com).
Lily of the valley are grown from rhizomes that can be planted in the spring or fall. Plants bloom in the spring and come back year after year. They are native to Europe where they are most often found growing in shaded woodlands. Plants have a spreading growth habit with a mature height of 6 to 12 inches.
When grown in West Texas lily of the valley needs to be shaded and kept moist. Plant rhizomes in well-drained soil heavily amended with organic matter.
Some information from foliagefriend.com; worldoffloweringplants. com
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
