Lily Of The Valley is one of the most fragrant spring flowers.  A perennial flower that prefers moist soil and shade and grows in the northern zone, USDA 2-9.  Tiny white bell-shaped flowers on stems with lance-shaped green leaves.  As I sat on the ground to photograph these tiny white flowers there was a gentle spring breeze.  The breeze filling the air with the beautiful fragrance of Lily Of The Valley.

As a toddler, I loved to walk behind the evergreen shrubs to find the blooming tiny white bell-shaped flowers in the spring.  A memory that is vivid, so vivid that when relocating back to the Midwest I wanted to have Lily Of The Valley in my garden.  Not just any Lily Of The Valley, but the plants my mom had planted probably 50+ years ago.  And I did.  The owner of the home where we lived is not fond of the flowers and I asked if I could come over and dig them up to transplant to my yard.  She said yes and in fact helped me dig up the plants.

As I sit and process my photos and write, I can smell the beautiful fragrant flowers.  Not just in my mind, as I picked a few stems and have them in a small vase on my desk.  Soon the Lily Of The Valley blooms will be spent and I’ll have to wait until next spring to relive the vivid childhood memory.  Until then I can embrace the fragrance and beauty of Lily Of The Valley through my photography.