Lilies-of-the-Valley

     Neighbors of ours here in New Holland, Pennsylvania have had a beautifully blooming and spreading patch of lilies-of-the-valley plants every May for many years.  I planted some plants of that species about eight years ago and now that cluster is blooming, and spreading, every year, too.  This plant species forms extensive colonies of itself from its growing underground rhizomes.  Between the neighbors and us we now have a couple of lovely patches of blossoming, white flowers of that plant species every May.  This kind of vegetation is beautiful and interesting to have in any flower bed or short-grass lawn in cities or suburbs.  I like seeing this species pushing, year after year, across flower beds and lawns. 
     Lilies-of-the-valley live for many years and each plant can be up to six inches tall and have two, lance-shaped, broad leaves.  Every May each plant has 12 to 15 white, quarter-inch flowers that are arranged alternately on a single tough stem that extends above the twin leaves.  Every sweet-smelling, bell-like blossom faces down and has six petals.  Those white blooms are made the more lovely when seen against the backdrop of their own lush foliage, particularly during rainy days when the foliage seems to glow from within.
     The perennial lilies-of-the-valley are originally from temperate, forested parts of Eurasia.  They were planted here in North America for their beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers.  And many colonies of them spread from their original plantings on this continent.  Today they are as wild as native plants because they respond to our seasons and are on their own, without human help. 
     This plant, that looks like a woodland wildflower in its colonies, does best in moist, rich soil and partial shade, as do native, woodland wildflowers in eastern North American forest floors.  And this plant is small and simple, like many woodland wildflowers are.
     Here in the Mid-Atlantic States, lilies-of-the-valley plants start emerging from the soil close to the end of April.  The leaves are curled at first to poke through the soil, but unfurl as they grow, turning bare soil into jungles of beautiful, green growth close to the ground.     
     Small, orange-red berries form where each blossom was, making lilies-of-the-valley almost as pretty in fall as in spring.  Each fruit contains a few white or brown seeds.  But everything about this species is poisonous to people.
     Look for lilies-of-the valley blossoms this May before a background of their broad, lush leaves.  They are a lovely species of plant that is similar to woodland wildflowers, but inhabit lawns on this continent.  They are also like native woodland wildflowers in the way they live and form colonies of themselves in partial shade.