Who knows what The Lily of the Valley has in common with Foxgloves?

26 August 2023

Lily of the valley, so quintessentially English, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe.

Convallaria majalis, to give it its botanical name, means 'that which belongs to May'. Also referred to as May Lily or May Bells, it typically blooms in May in the Northern Hemisphere, symbolising the onset of spring and the return of warmer weather.

The beautiful fragrant bells of convallaria used to be quite common in the British Isles in shady woodlands. Apparently in the time of Nicholas Culpeper (who died in 1654), it was widespread on Hampstead Heath. Sadly, with the removal of tree cover the plant has disappeared from there.