Majesty confided that the honour went to lily of the valley. Apart from the fact that it was included in her coronation bouquet in 1953, it is not at all difficult to see why lily of the valley wove its way into the late Queen's heart. It has, after all, a certain modesty about its person. The flowers are nodding and seemingly rather shy-not flamboyant like others of the lily family and they are possessed of the most glorious scent.
Not that our late Queen was the only monarch to be associated with Convallaria majalis, nor the first. That distinction belongs to Charles IX of France, who, on May 1 in 1560 or 1561 (recollections may vary), was presented with a nosegay of lily of the valley to bring him luck. The King took it as an omen and, thereafter, every May Day, he would present small bunches of muguet to every lady of the court.
To this day, in France, May Day is Fête du Muguet, when small bunches of this succulent-leaved groundcover plant are presented by lovers to their innamorato.
Denne historien er fra April 17, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra April 17, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
