I hope you had a lovely weekend. You may remember that last year I featured poinsettias and talked about them being a bit of a Marmite plant? Well, I feel that white Oriental lilies as shown in today’s post, sometimes also fall into this category.
People either tend to adore their intense fragrance or really can’t abide it. I remember when I worked for a florist in London that some businesses who had weekly contract flowers for their reception areas, specifically asked for scented lilies not to be included.
Personally, I really like their fragrance and recently had some in the kitchen, where they acted like a natural room freshener. I also love the fact that they’re long-lasting.
It’s advisable to pull off the stamens when they are still smooth and hard though, before they start to produce any dusty pollen. If not, the pollen can discolour the flower and stain surfaces or clothing if you brush past them. If you do get the pollen on your clothes, it’s best to remove it with sellotape.
Also, be aware that lilies are highly poisonous to cats…
So, how do you feel about highly scented white lilies? Do you love or loathe them?
(Images : Rona Wheeldon for Flowerona)
Beautiful flowers, I think they’re hard to beat for simplicity and style. But…… The smell makes me feel quite ill! My MIL adores lilies, and I know she has some the second I walk in the front door. Within half an hour I will have the beginnings of a banging headache. It’s a shame, as I love the look of them. A fragrance free variety would be great!
Hi Jan. I’m so sorry to hear of the impact some lilies have on you! Their scent can be very intense sometimes, can’t it…
This couldn’t have been timed better as my wedding flowers tip for today was making sure that the stamen are removed from some flowers as they can stain.
In regard to the scent I think a number of people associate the smell with relatives and funerals as we find lilies are often popular with the ‘older generation’.
Personally, although I do love Lilies the smell can be very overpowering especially when you have a room full of them that you are working with.
x
That’s really funny that we were both thinking of lilies today :-). Thank you for your lovely tweet too…
I like the smell.. as you said it always fills the whole house which is lovely. My dad hates the smell though so I do know it’s a marmite flower..
However, I only like to buy them for myself.. I find them a boring flower to give or be given.. easy choice.. I also had a boyfriend who gave them to me one to many times due to bad boyfriend behaviour therefore they don’t have the happiest memories!
Hi Tori. Thank you for popping by…scented lilies really seem to be dividing opinion on Flowerona this week :-).
LOATHE! I’ve never liked the smell of lilies, have on a number of occasions had pollen stained clothes to deal with, and always feel like they’ve too much of a strong connection with death/funerals in order to ever be able to enjoy them in the house. My mother on the hand, thinks they’re divine. Mum lives with us, and when I buy them for her as a present they’re displayed firmly in her area of the home only…!
Oh blimey Denise! Sorry that you’ve had bad experiences with white lilies :-(. Thank you for mentioning it…some people do feel that white lilies have a spiritual connection, don’t they? It’s lovely to hear though that your Mum likes them.
As a wedding florist that specialises in scented flowers I adore most of them and use scent whenever possible, although I also find the scent of lilies overpowering, it sets off my (rather unpredictable) asthma, makes my eyes prickle and I also get a banging headache from them. Not brilliant when you are a florist, but there it is!
Fiona
Firenza Floral Design
Hi Fiona. Thank you for popping by :-). On Twitter especially this week, I’ve had a few similar comments about the reactions that people get to them, including headaches. I’m sorry to hear that you’re one of them. It’s lovely to hear though that you specialise in scented flowers :-).
Tuberose (one of my absolute favourites) also causes that reaction, including a sick feeling as well, but I try and work round it because it’s just so beautiful. I only use lilies however when people specifically ask for them.
x
I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s amazing the impact flowers can have on some of us…
I’m so glad to find this! I received a gorgeous floral arrangement for my birthday a week ago. It had three huge white lillies in it. I’ve been having headaches which is very unusual for me. Then I began to notice an extremely acrid odor which was actually burning my nose. I finally figured out it was the lilies. They are so gorgeous but that smell is too much for me!.