Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley
(Convallaria majalis)

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is one of my favourite garden flowers. It evokes pleasant childhood memories and has been in every garden I've created since we were wed. I can remember laying on the cool grass gazing into the glass rocks my mom had surrounded by the heavenly smell of Lily of the Valley. I have a nice sized patch of Lily of the Valley on the north side of this house. While there is a very good chance that Lily of the Valley is already planted at the new house, I will be taking a few plants just in case.

Lily of the Valley is a very popular, hardy ground cover perennial for shady areas in our zone normally planted on the north side of the house but quite often found planted under trees as well. This plant is a slow spreading by rhizomes with fragrant white flowers that bloom in the spring followed by glossy red berries. It is rather problem free but can get leaf and stem rot during the rainy season. Lily of the Valley is a medicinal herb used as a cardiac tonic and antidiuretic similar to Digitalis. Pips, flowers and berries are poisonous so be sure to supervise children if you have Lily of the Valley growing in your garden.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2007