white coral bells upon a slender stalk, lilies of the valley line my garden walk. oh don’t you wish that you could hear them ring, that will only happen when the angels sing… I can still hear Mom singing that in her garden…..

Thanks for the memories. I had no idea Lily of the Valley is the official flower of May, but instinctively, this week, I gave my usual Mitsouko a break and have been wearing Diorissimo, and have been a crazy good mood from the lily of the valley notes. It’s like having a trio playing Haydn following me around.

I wish I could insert photos to my post! We have spent a wonderful May Day in our adopted home town in southern Provence. Hundreds of ladies and gentlemen, and their children, dressed in traditional costume, with lily of the valley tucked into breast pockets and carried in gloved hands, processed through the town under gloriously sunny skies. May day is also the festival of St George, patron saint of the “gardians”, the local cowboys and they also process through the town on their white horses, with their ladies, elegantly dressed in silks and satins, sitting pillion behind their saddles. It is a wonderful sight. Suzanne, I hope you will find the France you wish for when you arrive! The wonderful relaxed and civilised way of life traditionally enjoyed by the French has been threatened by a government which intends to “get France moving” by making sure that everyone works harder for their living. Sunday opening and shorter lunch breaks will become the norm. The huge rises in the prices of food have got people scrambling for the cheapest supermarket deals which as we all know is not compatible with anyones idea of an idylllic lifestyle! We have had first hand experience of the restrictive regulations on new businesses - the enormous up front tax and social charge contributions, and the disproportionate cost involved in employing staff are real inhibitors to new startups. Hopefully the govt will be addressing these issues soon. Still, it remains a beautiful place with beautiful people, and we hope to stay here for a while.

The last week of April, my mother would sit us down with crafts tools, wallpaper book samples, etc., and we would weave baskets from the paper, about 6x6”, with elaborate handles. Making the baskets would take an afternoon. Then, on the last day of April, late in the day, we would fill each basket with a little candle, some sweets or a piece of fruit, a few nuts (whole, in the shell), and go looking at what flowers were available (Of course she had already planted what we would need.) At dawn on May 1st, we would pick fresh flowers for the baskets, and then hang them on the doors of those “chosen,” which in my case was my piano teacher, the minister’s wife, my neighbor ladies, my teacher of whichever grade, my grandmother and my aunts. You would ring the doorbell and then hide or run away. And of course others would leave baskets for you. A sweet thing.

Workers of the World, Unite!

I’ve always felt the heather that I love and the lilies of the valley I admire so much are each loveliest when combined - the freedom of the moor married to the serenity of the valley, the whole is more attractive than the sum of its parts.

In Rhode Island there are also may breakfasts that alot of churches have had for many , many years. A place alot get to have the famous johnny cakes with all kinds of other good breakfast foods! May just happens to be my birthday month and I mean to tell you I always try to celebrate the whole month of may. But my actual birthday is may 21st!! The special flower means alot to me , for my dad always loved the hymn ” Lily of the valley” ! March on to victory May!!

My very favorite spring flower, le muguet! Thank you, Caterine for honoring this demure little flower with a powerful scent that ranks right up there with the gardenia, jasmine and the rose. I remember picking bouquets of them (it took awhile to make a good fistful, but there is nothing fresher nor more pure. It speaks of spring. Imagining my childhood bed of muguet surrounded by violets which I picked for my mother…I am there. xxx vpp