Lily-of-the-Valley, the Harbinger of Happiness

            Lily-of-the-Valley was my maternal Grandmother’s favourite flower, and when I see it, or hear it mentioned, I always think of her.  She told me and showed me proudly in photographs, that she had Lily-of-the-Valley in her wedding bouquet during the Second World War.  She used to use Yardley Lily-o-the-Valley soap and talc, and for a very special treat, their Lily-of-the-Valley bath salts.  I never found out why she had Lily-of-the-Valley in her bridal bouquet.  Born in January, it wasn’t her birth flower.  Perhaps she chose them because of their sweet and light fragrance, which I do know she loved, or perhaps she also chose them for their meaning.

Floriography, commonly known as the “language of flowers”, was used as a means of coded communication through the use of flowers and floral arrangements.  It allowed expression of feelings, sometimes unspoken ones, discreetly during a period when sharing ones feelings openly was not the done thing.  Lily-of-the-Valley represents “a return to happiness”.  Was my Grandmother trying to communicate the happiness she so dearly hoped for in her bridal bouquet?

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 17th of October is “floriography”, so I chose Lily-of-the-Valley over my own preference for white roses in memory of my beloved maternal Grandmother, but also for its meaning.  As the theme stipulates that my image must also “depict the meaning”, I have superimposed a partially transparent photo of a Lily-of-the-Valley that I took at the National Rhododendron Gardens in Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges over the top of one of my maternal Grandparents’ wedding photos taken in London in 1942, where they look very happy.  Sadly, my Grandmother’s bouquet featuring Lily-of-the-Valley only appears in formal studio portraits where the happy couple look far more serious, so I couldn’t use them for this challenge.  Still, I hope you find this more happy photo of them on their wedding day on the steps of the church with wedding guests a suitable choice.      

So, in Victorian times, Lily-of-the-Valley meant “a return to happiness.”  In Germanic mythology, Lily-of-the-Valley are associated with the humility and purity of the virgin goddess Ostara.  In Christian legend, Eve’s tears as she was expelled from the Garden of Eden turned into Lily-of-the-Valley.  The Lily-of-the-Valley is also seen as a symbol of humility and a sign of Christ’s second coming.

Lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis, sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe.

Taken on: October 17, 2020

Tags:

Smile on Saturday

Floriography

the language of flowers

lily of the valley

Convallaria majalis

flower

flowers

flora

bloom

white

leaf

foliage

leaves

bell shaped flower

lily

bell shaped

white flower

cream

small

stem

bud

fragrant

sweet

garden

National Rhododendron Gardens

Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden

Olinda

Dandenongs

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

tourism

tourist attraction

macro

plant

Dandenong Ranges

Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden and Ornamental Lake

Olinda National Rhododendron Gardens

green

humility

purity

return to happiness

return of happiness

flower meaning

meaning

meaning of flower

wedding

wedding photo

marriage

happy couple

couple

husband and wife

1942

1940s

London

40s « less

Sets appears in: • Smile on Saturday • Photos During the Time of Pandemic

Groups appears in: • FlickrCentral • Photography more » • Photographic Art • PIM - Photographers in Melbourne • Melbourne Photographers • Feeling & Emotion • ! F l i c k r | S t y l e ! • Abecedario de fotografìas: Un silencio interior • DazzlePix MOSAICS & MONTAGES • School of Digital Photography • Creative idea • Magic of Photography • Group for all users of FLICKR - No 30/60 Groups Limit • Smile on Saturday! :-) • FLICKR INTERNATIONAL - No 30/60 Groups Limit • The best photographs from around the world. • Flickrology • Photo-Phactory • BEAUTY PHOTOS AROUND THE WORLD • Paint a Picture • Flickr-at-Home • DANDENONG RANGES Botanic Garden - OLINDA VIC AU « less

Stats: 11,354 views / 95 comments