Impressive world traveller bursting with fabulous symbolism

It’s easy to create a contemporary natural look with lilies. There’s a wide choice of colours and shapes - it’s up to you! What adds to the lily’s appeal is that it’s bursting with symbolic meaning…

Colours and shapes
Lilies offer a host of possibilities. There’s plenty of choice in terms of colour, shape and size. Lilies come in serene white and calm pink, but also in eye-catching red, yellow, purple and orange. They also come with stripes, fringes or spots. The flowers can have a diameter ranging from 7 to 25 centimetres. Did you know, by the way, that double lilies do not have any stamens?

Symbolism

Lilies really are packed with symbolism. The most important symbolic meanings are:

• Femininity. In Greek and Roman times brides were given a crown of lilies in the hope of a pure and fruitful life.
• Love. In Victorian days receiving a sweet-scented lily told you: this is my beloved.
• Purity. White lilies are often used at weddings as a symbol of virginity and purity.
• Transience. The serene and pure appearance of the lily expresses emotions at times of loss and mourning.

Origin

Lilies are not only varied in terms of colour, shape, and size, but also in where they come from. You can find them growing wild in Korea, Japan and parts of Siberia, but also close to the equator in India. In Europe, the lily is native to the Caucasus, the Balkans, Greece, Poland, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. It also grows wild in most American states, with the exception of the south-west part of the United States. You can certainly describe the lily as a world traveler!