Lily of the Valley

Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria Majalis) - It is well to have a plantation of Lilies-of-the-Valley upon a south aspect, for the sake of earliness and of producing them in succession, for by this means flowers may be gathered a fortnight or three weeks earlier. The best places are those which afford shade and moisture, in which they revel. Give liberal surface-dressings of rotten manure annually in autumn. Frost is destructive to the blooms, which appear with the leaves. Spruce or other evergreen branches placed sparsely over the beds are a protection, and encourage growth.

The best time to plant is early in autumn, immediately after the foliage decays, selecting plump single crowns and dividing them. For beds likely to remain undisturbed for several years, the crowns should be planted 6 inches apart. Cover the surface after planting with 1 or 2 inches of rotten manure, thorough maturity being only insured by repeated applications of water—weak manure-water being the most effective. Treated thus, with annual surface-dressings of manure, the beds will keep in good condition for years, and bears fine blossoms in abundance. When the plants become crowded with shoots they should be thinned out, or, better still, lifted and replanted. It is now largely forced into flower early, the roots being usually imported from the Continent, where they are grown and prepared for the purpose. It may be naturalised, too, on any place sufficiently moist and shaded, and soon spreads into broad masses. There is a variety with gold-striped foliage, and another with double flowers, but this is not pretty. The finest form is called Fortins, which is more robust than the common kind, having larger flowers.

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