Friday, May 1, 2009

PFF ~ Lily of the Valley

Happy May Day!


The flower for May is the
Lily of the Valley...
Muguet des Bois...

The meaning of this
beautiful & fragrant
bell-shaped flower is the
Return of Happiness...
Purity and Humility...

Its botanical name is Convallaria Majalis...
from Convallis, meaning Valley...
and Majalis, meaning May.

This Breathtaking Vintage
Botanical Print is dated 1798...

The Lily of the Valley was
first cultivated in 1420...

According to the book
The Language of Flowers...

"It is not surprising that the Lily of the
Valley symbolizes the Return to Happiness,
for it is the sweetest flower imaginable.
With it’s dainty white bells and unmistakable
green scent it is said to lure the Nightingale
from his nest and lead him to his mate. It is
the symbol of May Day and was known as
May Lily and Our Lady’s tears because it
grew from the tears shed by the Virgin Mary
at the Cross. The flowers were grown by
monks for decorating the alter and were
called Ladder to Heaven because the
miniature flower bells grow
like steps up from the stem."

This Beautiful Vintage Ad is from the
May 1948 issue of Good Housekeeping...

Muguet des Bois by Coty was the first
Perfume I ever owned... to this day it
remains one of my all-time favorites...
perhaps I'll get a bottle of it today...
since it's my Birthday...
a girl can wish!

"This is the day which the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it..."
Psalms 118:24

This verse from Psalms
expresses each days
Promise of a
Return of Happiness
and a reason to Rejoice...

I hope that this first day of May
will be filled with countless
reasons for you to Rejoice...
and may Happiness always
find its way back to you...

God bless...

Until another time... Pearl

Please visit PFF's lovely host, Marie Reed,
to get a complete list of participants.

22 comments:

Marie Reed said...

Happy Birthday Pearl! How exciting to be born on such a flower filled Spring holiday too! The vintage images ARE (you said it) breathtaking! The vintage ad is especially unusual:) Hug Birthday Hugs! Be sure to eat at least 5 pieces of cake:)

Four-eyed-missy said...

Happy Birthday, dear Pearl!
What a perfect date to be born on and a beautiful flower for your birth month.

Wishing you all the happiness the world has to offer!

Postcards Crossing

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday darling! You're the best! ♥ ♥ ♥ Hope you have a wonderful day!

(Once upon a time I had loooots of Lily Of The Valley. I would divide them every year.)

dmarks said...

Happy Birthday!

Posts like this make me interested in seeking out the flower cards.

Chandy said...

Beautiful cards about a flower! Now, I'm curious to find one of my favorite ones!

Happy May!

Beth Niquette said...

I absolutely enjoyed your blog this morning--how unusual and beautiful these treasurs are! Thank you for sharing. I can't tell you how much I loved seeing these postcards.

I especially loved the ad--it is so whimsical.

Beth Niquette said...

Oh! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PEARL....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOoooo

YOUUUUU..........

Love,
deb

Twyla and Lindsey said...

Happy Birthday to You! May your day be blessed with much love and happiness. I'll be thinking of you today and praying that you will have a wonderful year ahead of you full of good health and new beginnings! Twyla

Daryl said...

what a perfect series for today

Terry said...

Happy Birthday to you Pearl.
WOW a Pearl for your birthday to look forward to each year and a
Holiday to celebrate .May poles,May flowers ,May baskets .
May your day be the dearest one ever filled with non stop blessings to carry you the whole year through .
Your post was awesome today.
I have the Book Of flowers you shared from and have enjoyed it ,so glad to see someone else has it too! Happy Postcard Friendship Friday .
Blessings with Hugs

Aimee said...

Perfect post for today! Happy May Day & Happy Birthday!

Mandala Michelle said...

Those are great! What a cool retro feel. Happy B-day to you too!

papel1 said...

Love the flower postcards. Happy Birthday. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Judy

Seawashed said...

Your blog is lovely...I came across it from Michelle's Marmelaide Chocolate Tea. What a lovely post for May Day.

Tracie~MyPetiteMaison said...

Happy May Day and Happy Birthday, sweet Pearl! May you enjoy your special day completely and laugh very hard out loud ;)
Wonderful wishes your way.
xoxo~Tracie

Lori said...

happy Birthday my dear friend!!! I long for the first white little bells to appear on my yard! Hope you had a blissful day! beautiful vintage print! Love Lori

Müge Tekil said...

Happy Birthday dear Pearl! May your new year be full of happiness and joy!

MuseSwings said...

Happy Birthday! Your Lily of the Valley cards are just delightful. I love those beautiful little flowers.

mel said...

Birthday blessings and Happy PFF!! I am so in love with your blog....and one of my favourite Yeats quotes on your sidebar!

And vintage postacards....ah, JOY!

~brightest blessings~

Robin said...

My late wishes for a Happy Birthday to you......

Your cards are lovely, as is your blog.

I hope your weekend is beautiful.

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

What a wonderful day to have a birthday! So many lovely associations with the day.

Thank you for visiting my blog - so sorry to be late in getting here.