On your next visit to your favorite NYC florist see if you can count the number of different lilies on display.
There are somewhere between 80 – 100 different varieties of lilies, most of which are hybrid. Any respectable flower shop should have in stock, at any given time, somewhere between 6 -10 different varieties of lilies.
Lilies have a rich history. Entire poems where dedicated to them and who doesn’t remember Katharine Hepburn famous scene as she enters the room holding several calla lilies and uttering the famous line “…The Calla Lilies are in Bloom Again…”
According to the Greek mythology, Hera Zeus’ wife believed that the lily flower was responsible for producing the milk in her breast.
And according the Roman mythology the goddess of beauty, Venus, was so jealous of the white color of the lily that she changed its shape by causing a spike to grow from its center.
And here is what the Bible has to say about Lilies”
“Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”
Cutting flowers to last longer in a vase requires trimming the stems underwater, snipping them at a 45-degree angle and replacing the water every day. Trim the ends every few days for longer-lasting fresh-cut flowers with advice from a sustainable gardener in this free video on gardening.