Mighty fragrance in the woods

There is one spot in the woods I like to visit that smells so heavenly in spring... The fragrance is so distinct that it is hard to confuse it with any other flower. Once you know it - you know it.

And that spot is always the same - a corner between two dusty forest paths surrounded by very old trees of different kinds. Years had passed since I saw them there first time and they are still there (though they can migrate to new spots).

Lily of the valley

This pretty thing can be found in colder parts of Europe and Asia. It doesn't like the heat of the south and even further north, it grows best in more shady, cooler parts.

It is also one of the first flowers that will start growing in spring. Little pointy tips will pierce the ground when it gets warmer and shoot big, dark green leaves. The flowers will show up a little later, around April-May and will last just a couple of weeks.

Each tiny flower is pea size and is packed with fragrance.

During the summer, the leaves will dry, and the plant will go dormant until next spring. It is a perennial, so the following year it will grow from the same (in theory) spot again, extending the underground rhizome.

This is such a beautiful plant that it became a popular garden flower too. The white one is the most common, but there are some hybrids in pink colour and also with fuller flowers.





And now about the migration I mentioned.

My mum has them in a garden, and for many, many years it has been growing in one corner under a big tree. Until it decided to move a little bit to a new spot a few meters away. The old spot was abandoned and now they grow and bloom in a new place.

They did that on their own... slowly.. year after year, a little further away from the tree.
I can only guess why that happened - the roots became too crowded and tight and they needed more room to grow somewhere else. So they move out :)

Lastly an interesting fact:

All parts of the plant are potentially poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children. If ingested, the plant can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heartbeats.
_source

Look but don't touch kinda flower :p

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As a side note: a few days ago I got a milestone badge:

What can I say...
It's been interesting 7 years full of learning, fun, drama, bulls and bears. I didn't think I would still be here after all this time. And it really doesn't feel like it has been 7 years already :)

Here is to another one:

_{Thank you, Linus Leo}

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_{Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.}