Probably it is unnecessary to describe the Lily of the Valley. It grows in light shade of forest margins and along hedges and flowers in May. Generations of dance students made their dancing partners a present of a bouquet of Lilies of the Valley at the end of term ball. The lady carried the bouquet during the evening, and the many bouquets filled the room with a discreet fragrance. Alas when I went to the dancing school this tradition was already forgotten and my dancing partner went to the dancing school straight from her riding lesson without wasting time for a shower. She also carried a fragrance, but it wasn`t discreet at all.

When Lily-of-the-Valley bouquets were fashionable, there were cultivars of this plant in the trade. This is one of these old varieties, its flowers being very double. Like all old varieties it is not often offered for sale.