Lily: Houseplant of the Month for March

Sparkling flowers, romantic colours, a delicate appearance – the lily not only brings spring into your home, but also keeps the big bad world outside.

Beautiful pastels

Do you ever a look at your timeline and think: maybe we could tone it down a bit? Less vivid, less bright? You’re not the only one – the need for more gentleness is one of the lifestyle trends that is playing an important role this year. And a potted lily fits perfectly with that: lots of pliant foliage, beautiful pastel colours, a friendly vibe – let spring arrive gently in your home. There’s always a colour and variety to match your taste and interior.

A bulb with a twist: exotic lilies in fabulous colours!

Blooming buffer

You know the lily as a cut flower and as a container and garden plant, but smaller versions are also available as a surprising compact houseplant. The pot contains a green tower topped with the beautiful flowers like a crown, both single and double (for if you want a particularly soft touch). There are varieties that provide a blooming, calming home fragrance – in aromatherapy the lily represents a sense of security – but there are also scentless lilies if you prefer.

Styling tips

• Combine them with ferns and other foliage plants to create an indoor garden
• Opt for spring colours like pink, yellow and white with a bit of sassy orange
• Keep the pots simple: one colour, one type of material – that way the flowers will stand out even better.

World traveller

The lily is a herbaceous plant which is part of the lily family. The plant grows from a bulb and there are more than a hundred species, of which most occur in the northern hemisphere. The original plant probably came from China – the plant still grows in Korea, Japan and parts of Siberia – and spread via the Caucasus, the Balkans and the Alps to Europe and later America. In the wild you will most often find lilies in a woodland environment or on grassland.

Care

• The lily likes a lot of light, but not bright sunlight.
• Water regularly – it’s better if the soil doesn’t dry out.
• Wilted flowers can be easily removed.

How to get the best from your lily

The potted lily is a houseplant that gives its all. You buy it in bud and place it in a good spot. It flowers like mad, treating you to fabulous flowers, and then it’s finished. If you want to give it a second life, the potted lily can be planted in the soil after flowering: the bulb is hardy and will bloom again next year.

Trivia

• The lily symbolises innocence, femininity, transience and purity.
• The Latin name Lilium probably comes from the Greek word ‘leíron’ which was used for the revered white lilies and in this context means ‘true’ or ‘pure’.
• The lily is the sort of plant around which legends spring up, because they are beautiful and mysterious and bring joy. As the Chinese saying goes: ‘If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily.’

For more information see: www.thejoyofplants.co.uk

Published on: 26 February 2019