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« The long, quiet game of science pays off | Main | Goodbye warm winter, hello spring » March 16, 2008The white lily, a symbol of Easter
The beautiful white, trumpet-shaped flowers, Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum), symbolize purity, hope and life – the essence of Easter. Beauty, grace and tranquility emanate from this time-honored flower. White signifies purity. In early paintings, the angel Gabriel extended a branch of white lilies to the Virgin Mary, announcing that she was to be the mother of the Christ Child. White lilies were brought to Mary and the infant Jesus by the saints in other paintings. Lilies were supposedly present in the paradise of Adam and Eve. According to the biblical lore, when Eve left the Garden of Eden, she shed tears of repentance and lilies sprung up from those tears. True repentance was believed to be the beginning of beauty. Lily is considered to be close to ‘a perfect specimem’; hence the saying “To gild a lily” which is equivalent to a foolish attempt to improve on perfection. The actual phrase was "To paint the lily,” from Shakespeare’s King John: “To gild refined gold, To paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, To smooth the ice, or add another hue unto the rainbow, or with taper-light, To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.”
According to Texas A&M's Aggie Horticulture's lily page, the Easter Lily is "the fourth largest crop in wholesale value in the United States pot plant market, behind poinsettias, mums and azaleas. Of these four top crops, the Easter Lily has the narrowest holiday sales window, typically only 2 weeks." Care: "Easter Lilies prefer moderately cool temperatures... Avoid placing plants near drafts, and avoid exposure to excess heat or dry air... The lily will thrive near a window in bright, indirect natural daylight, but avoid direct sunlight. It prefers moderately moist, well-drained soil. Water the plant thoroughly when the soil surface feels dry to a light touch, but avoid over-watering." Posted by Pat Feinstein CommentsElizabeth | March 18, 2008 3:51 PM link Yes. I planted mine too, but these are "tender bulbs" and they are supposed to be dug up and stored for re-planting. pat | March 18, 2008 5:24 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. |
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CATEGORIES Beauty/oddities in nature
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I have planted the bulbs from Easter lilies (well after the blooming period) in our garden beds and had them come back every summer with their beautiful white blooms. Try it!