Lily of the valley perfect in borders or vases

At this time of the year lily of the valley is at its best with its lush green foliage and beautiful waxy, white bell-shaped flowers that give off the most wonderful scent. Such is its beauty one could be forgiven for overlooking that below the ground its long twitch/couch-like roots are stretching out invading the surrounding spaces. If not concerned by its spreading nature or have plenty of space, who wouldn’t turn a blind eye or give up a square metre or two of their garden to the beauty of long-lasting leaves and exquisitely scented flowers

Lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis is not fussy about soil type but seems to do better in semi-shade. Ideally suited for wild and woodland gardens it makes a good ground cover planting in smaller shrub borders and complements other plantings such as ferns, oxalis, asarum, astilbe, primula, and cyclamen.

Like many herbaceous perennials, over autumn and winter the leaves die off and the plant goes dormant but come spring purple spikes appear out of the ground that unfold with leaves and a flower stalk with several little bell-shaped hanging flowers.

Sometimes the flowers are followed by small scarlet berries. There is only one species but numerous cultivars such as those with variegated leaves, pink flowers and double flowers.

For a little bit of cheer, a small bouquet of lily of the valley flower on the bedside table is hard to beat.

Convallaria majalis can be found in the Fragrant Theme border and among the sasanqua camellias in the lower garden.