Colours and shapes
You will be familiar with the Lily (Lilium) as a cut flower and garden plant, but it also makes a fantastic houseplant in its compact form. The flowers are red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, almost black, white, bicoloured or multi-coloured. They smell divine (in aromatherapy Lily helps to create a feeling of safety), although there are also unscented varieties for those who prefer it. It’s a substantial plant that provides height without taking up much room, and has plenty of foliage.
Origin
The Lily is a herbaceous plant which is a member of the Lily family. The plant grows out of a bulb and includes more than one hundred species, most of which grow in the northern hemisphere. The ancestral form probably originates from China. You will most commonly find Lilies in woodland or grassland.
Symbolism
The Lily symbolises innocence, transience and purity. The Latin name Lilium probably comes from the Greek word 'leíron', which was used for venerated white Lilies and means ‘true’ or ‘pure’ in this context. The Lily is the sort of plant around which legends spring up, because it’s beautiful and mysterious and brings joy. As the Chinese say: ‘If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily.’
