Flowers 101: Lily of the Valley
Season: Lily of the Valley are available year round but are most readily available in the spring.
Cost: These gorgeous little bell shaped flowers do not come cheap. Expect to pay upwards of $15 per stem for Lily of the Valley – each stem has about 10 to 15 or more blooms per stem.
Colors: Lily of the Valley is most commonly found in white but if you are in the right season and willing to pay, you can sometimes find a very pale pink. Don’t set your heart on the pink though – they are quite rare.
Hardiness: Lily of the Valley are some of the more fragile, delicate flowers that are used in weddings. They wilt quite easily in the heat and the blooms themselves are extremely fragile. Don’t toss your bouquet around too much or handle the flowers themselves too roughly.
Pairings: I love entire bouquets of Lily of the Valley but they look awesome with roses, sweet pea and tulips as well. To me, they fall into the classic flower genre than the modern but I am all for mixing things up – they could be interesting with callas.
Good Things to Know: Lily of the Valley are extremely fragrant with a perfume like scent. The scent is one that people seem to either love or hate so be sure you like it before you put them in your wedding bouquet – you don’t want to hate having your bouquet around you all day!
The flowers on Lily of the Valley open from the bottom to the top so the little blooms closest to the stem open first – expect that there may be some closed buds at the top of each stem.
Lily of the Valley have fantastic, broad leaves that can be gorgeous as a backdrop for a boutonniere – almost like they were picked that day and pinned on straight from the garden.
Next up on Flowers 101: Bells of Ireland
Picture credits
top row: Bloomery Weddings, Martha Stewart, The Knot, Lamber de Bie
bottom row: LI Weddings, Classic Floral Designs, The Knot, The Bride’s Cafe
Tags: flowers, flowers 101, lily of the valley, wedding flowers
