I have always been drawn to the Lily of the Valley, because it was my birth flower, but I had no idea how poisonous it was until I picked a few sprigs to put in a small jar for the kitchen table. It wasn't until I began to feel absolutely horrid, that I looked up the "lily of the valley" to find out if could actually be harmful. To my surprise, even touching it can make you sick! So now, I simply look at it and don't touch. I'm not sure if everyone is as sensitive to the plant as I am, but I'm just putting it out there. I still love the tiny little flower. :)
And the Naiad-like lily of the vale, Whom youth makes so fair and passion so pale, That the light of its tremulous bells is seen, Through their pavilions of tender green. - Percy Bysshe Shelley
And in his left he held a basket full Of all sweet herbs that searching eye could cull Wild thyme, and valley-lilies whiter still Than Leda's love, and cresses from the rill. - John Keats,
"I would far rather have two or three lilies of the valley gathered for me by a person I like, than the most expensive bouquet that could be bought."
Elizabeth Gaskell
Today's Pick
The splendor of the rose and the whitness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its lovliness.” Therese of Lisieux
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. Bible
No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning. Cyril Connolly