Lily of the Valley - intoxicating in valley amounts

Ground cover plant for shady areas with rich soil that stays fairly damp.

Smell-o-vision

The Lily of the Valley plant is not a lily, it is in the asparagus family. The entire plant is poisonous to eat but the essential oil is widely used in popular and expensive perfumes. It also has healing benefits.

It is easy to grow if soil and shade conditions are good - moist, rich soil, forest shade and leaf litter is okay or preferred. As a ground cover it tolerates dry parts of summer fairly well but it is to look at rather than walk through. The plants will break easily and then be done for the season.

Lily of the Valley is a bulb like plant that reappears in the spring but it grows laterally by rhizomes. The roots connect the plants into a mat that needs to be cut if you want to divide and transplant some.

In the photo above you can see where plumbing work cut through the Lily patch. A lone Bluebell is also left on the other side of where a trench had been dug. That was ~ three years ago, and we see some lilies sending out lateral roots with small lilies.

Below a lateral with four new plants is growing away from the remaining patch. There is also Ground Ivy - Creeping Charlie, which I am nibbling on a few minty leaves while writing this post. The Lily of the Valley smell so good I don't want to leave.

Bumblebees like Ground Ivy flowers and Bluebells and Lily of the Valley.

Healing benefits are present for humans as well as the intoxicating fragrance.

innerfyre.co/blogs/essential-oils/lily-of-the-valley-essential-oil.

Disclaimer This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.