Friday, June 8, 2012

Lilly of the Valley

 
My GrandMothers' yard was full of lilacs and lily of the valley, every spring.
I used to love these angelic little bells and they would take me back into small towns
where I would see them as churchbells .
What a lovely sound and fragrance this make believe world of mine had,
living with these flowers.
I had a perfume as well, made from them which I loved

These flowers are also known as Jacobs ladder because of the stem they grow on.
Little bells with so many uses.
Who knew?
They can be used to relieve fevers, as a diuretic , sedative, made into a salve to prevent scarring from burns.
They have some digitalis properties to help old people with their hearts.
Their aroma helps relieve depression and counter effects the brain from aging.
It can help lower blood pressure, gout, rheumatism, sprains and regaining memory

A Lilly of the Valley Legend tells a story of these flowers growing from the blood of St Leonard,
Who fought a battle with the dragon of Horsham, in Surrey, England.

This  perennial comes back every year and spreads through rock gardens, adding
to their mystic qualities.
Where but in God's land, could we find such beauty and poetic power, in so little a plant?
We have so much riches all around us and men walk by never noticing what they are missing.
We use these flowers in little girls' hair, at weddings and othe times when we want to show
angelic delicacy
and
purity
but they have so  much more to offer.
I would definitely put them alongside the Regal Queen Rose,
unquestioned in the flower world, as the most beautiful
on the whole planet.

Mirror Mirror on the wall
Who is the beautifulest of them all?
You my Queen but there is another,
and 
Cinderella is her name.
Have a good one :)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

10 comments:

George said...

Lily of the Valley is a beautiful plant. We used to have many of them in our yard when we lived in the North Carolina mountains, but I haven't seen many around here.

Rob-bear said...

While Lilly of the Valley is beautiful, it is also poisonous to dogs, cats, and horses. Which is why we had so little in our yards when we had dogs.

Sigh!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi A Lady's Life - Lily of the Valley is just a beautiful flower with a lovely scent - I'd love to take a sprig or two up to my mother ..

Didn't know about Horsham to my west, while St Leonards is to the East here in Sussex ... Dragons in Sussex - now that's interesting ..

Cheers Hilary

SandyCarlson said...

These flowers are gorgeous. So delicate. They had me sure of the existence of flower fairies when I was younger....and now!

A Lady's Life said...

George Lily of the Valley is one of my favorites and I sure would love a rock garden full of it

A Lady's Life said...

Rob Bear - We always had animals and not one of them ate this flower.

A Lady's Life said...

Hilary Aren't legends interesting?
lol

A Lady's Life said...

Sandy you and me both .
They are just a bit too perfect aren't they?

Rob-bear said...

And now we know why the animals never touched them. Those critters are smart!

A Lady's Life said...

rob bear lol