May First Lily of the Valley

Black and white lily of the valley

 

Gentle passage of time.

Giving sweet notes to lead the way.

Perfumed bells that cannot be denied.

 

 

 

Lily of the valley

 

 

May 1st. Lily of the Valley, other names includes May lily, May bells, lily constancy, ladder-to-heaven, and muguet (French). 

In France on May 1st, vendors line the street and back roads selling Muguet. It is customary to give a sprig of muguet to the members of your family and closest friends. 

 

 

 

Old bottle as a vase

 

 

Yesterday morning, as tradition would have it, French Husband brought me muguet. The wonder of a small flower with a big punch of fragrance. Since muguet is such a delicate flower I wanted to find an appropriate vase. One were it show cased the single strands.

An old bottle, perfect with its narrow neck.

 

 

 

Teinture...muguet

 

 

 

The old label reads: Teniture de condurango (tincture) which is used to aid digestion.

Lily of the valley, or muguet, flower message is: The return of happiness, since it is one of the first flowers to bloom in spring..

 

 

 

Lace curtain, early morning

 

Return of happiness, oh yes spring.

 

Spring: Morning light, the flowering almond and cherry trees, awakening color, the roses growing over my bedroom window, birds song- especially the evening owls singing their mating song that I love so much…

Spring leaving the window open at night, listening to the thundershowers.

 

 

 

Stepping out spring

 

 

 

 

Muguet under lace

 

 

Muguet under lace,

Emotion close to surface,

Pulling back winter's blanket,

Awakening.

 

 

 

Teinture spring

 

What would be your tincture for Spring?

A drop of sunshine,

a sprig of thyme,

a blush of pink, by pinching a baby's cheek…

a note of Pomp and Circumstance as the graduates march.

 

 



Comments

8 responses to “May First Lily of the Valley”

  1. Beautiful writing and photos, Corey. I put a small bouquet of muguet in an old Chanel no.5 bottle on the porch of a dear neighbor. Her papa a is French . She did not know about this tradition.

  2. Marilyn

    Oh a pinch of spring just would have sunshine in abundance with blossoms of pink blushed apple blossoms.

  3. Taste of France

    I have the prettiest little vase, with lilies of the valley etched on it. A gift from a dear aunt. Just the right size for a few muguet sprigs.
    Lily of the valley is one of my favorite scents.

  4. Thank you for your gift of creativity. Your words and images made my favorite flower that much more beautiful.

  5. There was a song we sang at Girl Scout Camp:
    White coral bells upon a slender stalk,
    Lillies of the garden deck my garden walk,
    Oh, don’t you wish that you could hear them ring?
    That will happen only when the fairies sing.
    My muguet are not blooming yet. But they will be in a few days of sunshine. Thanks for sharing your traditions with us.

  6. That should be “Lillies of the valley” deck my garden walk. I was singing it to myself and it came back…ah, senior moments.

  7. Marilyn King

    There are no lily of the valley growing here in Chico, Ca., but in Pennsylvania where I grew up they were everywhere in the Spring. Thank you for the pretty reminder.

  8. Cheryl in Wisconsin

    Oh, Corey, I have been gone too long, too much focus on my to-do list. I miss this aesthetic, and will make it a habit to come back here regularly. Thank you.

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