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I wish you could smell this post [grin]

(19 Posts)
fiorentina51 Thu 25-Apr-19 23:04:34

Mine aren't in flower yet but many have their flower buds showing. I live in Worcestershire.

Luckygirl Thu 25-Apr-19 22:27:17

Lovely - just lovely.

Calendargirl Thu 25-Apr-19 20:52:00

Should have read "my" husband!

Calendargirl Thu 25-Apr-19 20:50:36

When I was seven years old back in 1960 I was chosen to be May Queen at my primary school May Day celebrations. My posy was Lily of the Valley. The smell takes me right back to that day. My favourite flower. I tell me husband to put a posy on my coffin when I'm gone!

MawBroonsback Thu 25-Apr-19 08:24:32

Paw always used to give me a little bunch of muguet on 1 May sad

J52 Thu 25-Apr-19 08:05:35

They’re fabulous plants. Mine line a path so the scent wafts up as you brush by.
I’m drawn to perfumes that use Lilley of the Valley as a base in their manufacture.

Willow500 Thu 25-Apr-19 07:19:14

My late MIL's favourite flowers. Her granddaughter (husband's niece) rang the other day to ask if I wanted some as she is thinning them out so hoping I can make them thrive! Sadly no sense of smell so won't be able to detect their perfume any more.

watermeadow Wed 24-Apr-19 21:23:55

Where do you live to have them flowering already? Everything is a fortnight early this spring but my lily of the valley have only just come up.
I have lost most of my sense of smell but can vividly remember the lovely smells of lily of the valley, lilac, apple blossom and bluebells. The scents of spring.

lovebeigecardigans1955 Tue 23-Apr-19 17:10:40

Last year I put about 7 or 8 of these in a trough and I thought that they'd died (shrivelled up and went brown) so I just shrugged my shoulders - you win some, you lose some with gardening, after all.
This morning I noticed that a few of them have come up again, one or two with the flowers which has amazed me. Looking forward to the scent.

MamaCaz Tue 23-Apr-19 17:00:28

Ooh, those bring back memories☺

Nearly thirty years ago, I arrived at the house of some French friends on 1st May. Apparently, it is - or was - traditional to pick these in the woods, or buy some, on that date. My host had put a small vase of them in my bedroom, but that lovely scent was so strong that I had to remove them in the middle of the night!

Years later, I planted some in my back garden, but they failed to thrive. Meanwhile, some spread into the front garden from the house next door, and did so well that they became a pest, and I eventually had to dig them all out.
I seem to have something of a love-hate relationship with them!

fiorentina51 Tue 23-Apr-19 13:47:16

Mine are growing happily in some rough soil where there is dappled shade. The patch I nurtured lovingly died off within a few years. I can only assume they don't mind being neglected!

midgey Tue 23-Apr-19 13:40:20

I can’t get them growing either and like Nannytopsy they remind me of my mum.

Nannytopsy Tue 23-Apr-19 13:05:03

My favourite too! Mum used to pick some and wrap them in damp tissue and post them to me for my birthday when I was at university. They have not thrived in any of my gardens ?

Greyduster Tue 23-Apr-19 12:53:28

We lived next to a large tract of woodland in Belgium that was smothered in lily of the valley. The scent was truly heady and something to look forward to. I had some in my last garden but, despite my nurturing them, they struggled and eventually disappeared.

fiorentina51 Tue 23-Apr-19 12:45:11

I have a large clump of them growing in my garden, given to me by a dear friend who died almost 20 years ago. A lovely reminder of her.

BradfordLass72 Tue 23-Apr-19 11:39:44

My parents had a scrubby and totally uncared-for garden surrounded by privet and this one, glorious flower.
It came up every year and I (a keen gardener but at that time with no garden) adored it.

I can smell it in my memory.

sodapop Tue 23-Apr-19 11:00:59

Lovely Lisagran there is a custom here in France to give a sprig of Lily of the Valley to friends on May Day.

Teetime Tue 23-Apr-19 10:58:18

Wish we had a 'like' button.

Lisagran Tue 23-Apr-19 10:30:45

The lily of the valley are just starting to flower in our garden. They have such a strong scent for a tiny flower