Photo Of The Week ~ Lily Of The Valley

April 3, 2024
Larry Hurley
Featured Products, Private Gardens
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Looks nice in the photo, but planting Lily of the Valley was one of my biggest mistakes. I planted a half a dozen “pips” (bare root plant with a bud, packed in peat moss) in 1986. When we sold the house in 2021, they had spread to cover a couple of hundred square feet.

Convallaria majalis (I hope. Seems like all the scientific names I learned over the years have been updated to new, more accurate names.) looks nice in the spring, with fresh green foliage, attractive bell-shaped flowers, and a wonderful fragrance.

Among the downsides: they spread very aggressively, and are considered invasive species in many states, including Wisconsin where I now live.

In our hot summers in Bethesda, even with watering, the foliage would turn brown and become sort of shredded by August. So, they are “nice” for a few weeks; “there” for a few weeks, and “ugly” for a lot of weeks. If you do plant them, put a barrier around them to keep them from spreading. You can get further info on barriers from the internet.

(Lily of the Valley, photo taken 4/29/2020, Hurley Garden, Bethesda)

Larry Hurley

Larry Hurley worked at Behnke Nurseries from 1984 until the business was composted in 2019, primarily with the perennial department in growing, buying and sales.

Before landing at Behnke’s, he worked as a technician in a tissue culture lab, a houseplant “expert” at a florist shop, and inventory controller at a wholesale nursery in Dallas. With this and that, ten years passed.

When his wife Carolyn accepted a position at Georgetown University, Larry was hired at Behnke’s for the perennial growing department and garden center at Behnke’s Largo location.

In 2021, Larry and Carolyn moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and further from traffic. After 37 years in a shaded yard in Maryland, he is happy to have a sunny lot where he can grow all sorts of new perennials, if only he can keep the rabbits at bay. He also enjoys cooking, traveling, and the snowblower.