I often have dirty hands. Well, dirty might not be the right adjective. I often have stained hands. A bit like Lady Macbeth but without the blood. My hands, as you can see in this photograph, have been covered with an exotic saffron-coloured stain recently and I think it’s worth it. It’s all about lilies.

Recently, there has usually been a large vase of lilies brightening up the ground floor (ok, first floor you Americans) of my house. The indoor hyacinths are now over so the fragrance of lilies is my next aroma of choice. Yes, I know you can buy sprays that make your home smell like, or so they say, Spring but they usually make quite innocent households smell like a Persian brothel. Why get an unconvincing fake if you can buy the real thing.

So now the house smells of lilies and looks pretty good too. The only trouble is the red pollen that covers the lily’s stamens. It might look attractive but you only have to brush against it and it will cover your clothes with a pretty well indelible stain. I have some t-shirts and shirts with the lily’s imprint so now I remove the pollen when the flowers open.

They last longer too in their neutered state and,  currently, there are no bees or butterflies flying around my place so no one is being deprived of anything except the lilies and even they seem perfectly happy.

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