Description
The convalescent ward at the hospital in Limoges has a long window that looks over a courtyard, and in May the nurses keep a pot of lily of the valley on the sill. Madame Lambert, recovering from a fall, has watched it all week from her bed. She says the scent reminds her of her wedding bouquet, sixty-one years ago, carried down the aisle in a church that no longer stands.
One afternoon a ladybug lands on the leaves. A young nurse, passing with a tray, stops and points. “That means you will be home soon,” she says. Madame Lambert laughs and says she has heard that one before. She goes home three days later. This little potted plant in porcelain holds the same quiet promise. The tiny white bells rise from their leaves, the ladybug rests among them, and the whole piece sits comfortably on a windowsill, a bedside table or a desk. It makes a gentle get-well gift, a May birthday present or a thank-you for someone who cared.
Inside and out
- A flowerpot of lily of the valley in bloom
- One red ladybug resting among the leaves
- About 1.25″ x 1.25″ x 2.25″
- Opens to hold a small charm
- Made by Rochard in hand-painted Limoges porcelain, France
Unlike real muguet, it blooms in every season. Give it to someone who could use a reminder that spring does come back.
