The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Two sides to lilies
After reading a recent article in the column, 91-year-old Blairgowrie reader, Isa Niven, asked her daughter Irene to take a photo of the lilies at the back of her house and send it in to us. These Calla or Arum lilies were given as a potted house warming present to Isa and her late husband, Jim when they retired and moved to Blairgowrie from Essendy in 1984.
“After they had finished flowering and the leaves died back,” says Irene, “Isa took the rhizomes out of the pot and planted them at the back of her house and they have been multiplying and growing outside ever since.
“Most years they bloom – there has been the odd year when bad frosts have all but killed the rhizomes, but, with some loving care, they recover and send out marvellous blooms the following year. In fact, there are over 100 beautiful flowers this year.
“The Calla lily is not a true lily, it is from the Araceae family and has a spathe (modified leaf) – lilies usually have six petals. It is believed that the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus made a mistake when he was naming the species. Later, the German botanist Karl Koch corrected the error and established the genus Zantedeschia, but the name stuck.
“Calla lilies have two faces and because of this feature, superstitions about this flower have two sides too – good and bad. For weddings, there are some cultures where white Calla lilies make for the best bouquets because they mean beauty and purity. However on the other hand, these lilies mean death to other cultures and are used at funerals.”