Mary's Tears

In a nature reserve near where I used to live there is an area which will now be full of the most beautiful perfume of wild lily of the valley. It is a marvellous sight to see carpets of the delicate little flowers which as a symbol of purity, modesty, happiness and love are often added to a bride’s bouquet. The lily of the valley is also a symbol of humility and often reproduced in religious paintings.

There are various legends associated with the flower.

Legend tells that one day a lily of the valley took affection for a nightingale that, perched on a branch of a tree above, day after day filled the woods with his enchanting singing. The lily of the valley fell in love with the nightingale but she was very shy and did not dare to show herself. One day, alas, the nightingale did not come any more, the lily of the valley waited for him in vain. Out of sadness, the lily of the valley only bloomed again when the bird came back to the woods in May, bringing happiness to the lily of the valley that so became, in the language of the flower, a symbol of happiness.

When Eve wept after her expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the tears turned into lilies of the valley

According to a Christian legend, Mary's tears turned into a lily of the valley when she cried at the cross for the death of her son Jesus. And this is the reason why this flower is also known in some languages as "Mary's tears".

I picked these in my garden and now their perfume fills the air reminding me of the wild flowers in the Cotswold wood where the nightingale sings while tiny dormice scurry among the lily of the valley.