Lily Of The Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Convallaria majalis

Deciduous Perennial Upright, Spreading (Rhizomatous) in the Asparagaceae Family
Enjoy the enchanting charm of Lily of the Valley, with its delicate, bell-shaped white flowers exuding a sweet fragrance. This resilient perennial brings a touch of elegance and nostalgia to shaded gardens, blooming beautifully in spring!

Lily of the Valley is a beloved old-world perennial groundcover grown for its one-sided clusters of small, nodding, bell-shaped white flowers and their intensely sweet fragrance. Each shoot sends up a pair of broad, arching, glossy green basal leaves in spring, with the flower stalk rising between them; small orange-red berries sometimes follow the blooms in summer, though they form inconsistently.

It spreads by dense underground rhizomes to form a thick, long-lived carpet in shaded ground, and the foliage dies back by mid-to-late summer, going fully dormant well before fall. Every part of the plant is toxic if eaten, which has made it a longstanding, reliable choice for deer- and rabbit-pressured shade gardens.

Pros

  • Intensely fragrant white spring flowers, beloved for centuries
  • Thrives in deep shade where few flowering perennials will grow
  • Toxicity makes it reliably deer- and rabbit-resistant
  • Forms a dense, long-lived groundcover with little upkeep

Cons

  • Every part of the plant is toxic if eaten -- a real concern around kids and pets
  • Spreads aggressively and can be hard to remove once established
  • Foliage dies back by mid-to-late summer, leaving a gap until next spring
Why Like Not native to North America -- it's an old-world woodland plant, originally from Europe and temperate Asia -- but it has naturalized widely here over centuries of cultivation and is often found persisting around old homesteads and in shaded woodland edges long after a garden around it is gone. Its fragrance has been prized for centuries, from the French tradition of gifting sprigs on May 1st (La Fete du Muguet) to its long use in perfumery. The whole plant's toxicity is exactly why it survives where little else does in a deer- and rabbit-heavy shade garden: nothing wants to eat it.
Highlights
  • One of the most fragrant hardy perennials you can grow in full shade
  • Centuries-old garden plant, still given as May Day nosegays in France
  • Whole plant is toxic, so deer and rabbits leave it alone
  • Spreads on its own to carpet shaded ground within a few seasons
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 8 - 12 inches tall. 12 - 18 inches wide.
Growth Rate Slow
Sun Exposure Full Shade - Partial Shade
Moisture Tolerance Dry - Medium: Prefers consistently moist soil, especially while getting established, but tolerates summer drought and dry shade reasonably well once mature. Does not want to sit in wet or poorly-drained ground.
Zones 3a - 8b (Usually hardy to -40° F)
Tags Attracts Bees, Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Pollinators, Container, Deciduous, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Dry, Edging, Filler, For a Shady Spot, Formal Garden, Foundation, Fragrant Flowers, Full Shade, Good for Accents, Good for Beginners, Good for Borders, Good for Butterfly Garden, Good for Cut Flowers, Good for Mass Planting, Groundcover, Low Maintenance, Medium, Most Popular, Native to Asia, Native to Europe, Naturalizing, Normal Soil, Partial Shade, Perennial, Potentially Toxic, Rabbit Resistant, Shade Tolerant, Showy Flowers, Slow Growth Rate, Tolerant of Clay Soil, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Tolerant of Sandy Soil, Well-Drained Soil, Woodland Garden
Bloom Period April - May
Flower Color White
Foliage Color Green
 

Most Popular Plants
 

More Info from Experts

Commonly Planted with...

Hostas, Ferns, Astilbe, Brunnera, Bleeding Heart, Solomon's Seal, Pulmonaria, Japanese Maple, Coral Bells, Tiarella.
Want More photos of this plant? Try Google Image Search!
 


Pricing and Availability History

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Past Availability
2025 : 04/03 - 10/04
2024 : 05/01 - 10/05
2023 : 05/11 - 09/30


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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!