Lily-of-the-Valley

Lily-of-the-Valley, the Sweetest Flower

The Sensitive Plant-Part I

And the Naiad-like lily of the vale,

Whom youth makes so fair, and passion so pale,

That the light of its tremulous bells is seen, 

Through their pavilions of tender green.

                                                 --Shelley

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My sister gave me a framed paper collage of

the most charming lily-of-the-valley she had made. 

Besides the fact that it's beautiful, 

when I look at it it, it reminds me of so many happy times.

Time spent with her, my other sister, niece, and mom on my recent visit.

Lily-of-the-valley is the flower for the month of May,

so it has always reminded me of  my mom's birthday, which is this month.

If I could gather the tiny white blossoms into a bouquet,

I would give them to her. 

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And lilies-of-the-valley also remind me of my husband's mother,

who had a profusion of lilies-of-the-valley growing behind her house.

Until I saw hers, I had never seen masses of lilies-of-the-valleys except in photos.

photo from easytogrowblog.com

I tried to grow a few starts of my mother-in-law's 

since lilies-of-the-valley are supposed to be hardy in many climates,

and are said to do particularly well in woods under large trees.

Mine only lived one season though, and I'm not sure why.

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But for that one season, their tiny white bell-shaped flowers

and bright green, sword-shaped leaves were beautiful.

Kind of like this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay:

My candle burns at both ends.

It will not last the night.

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,

it gives a lovely light.

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