A Flower for May — Lily of the Valley
When May draws near, the flower that comes to mind is lily of the valley. Those little bell-shaped blooms swaying gently on their stems — I find them utterly charming every time I see them.
Flower Meaning & Birth Flower
Lily of the valley is the birth flower for May. Its flower meanings include “return of happiness,” “purity,” and “humility.” In France, May 1st is known as “Lily of the Valley Day” — a tradition of gifting the flower to loved ones as a charm for good luck and happiness. Interestingly, despite its delicate and innocent appearance, lily of the valley is actually poisonous — which gives it a certain air of mystery, don’t you think?
Lily of the Valley — When is the best time to see it?
The blooming season is April to May. As the warmth of spring deepens, tiny bells begin to sway. The Japanese native species grows wild in cool regions like Hokkaido and Tohoku, blooming around May. In Hokkaido especially, you can find them growing naturally in parks and neighborhoods — May truly is lily of the valley season there.
Lily of the Valley in Clay Flower
This photo was actually taken about three years ago. Looking at it now, I notice all sorts of things I’d do differently — “I should have blended the edges more carefully,” or “the buds could be more like this, and the leaves…” It’s endless. But it’s because of all that trial and error back then that I’ve grown to where I am today. I keep it close as a record of how hard I was working at the time, along with the video I published on YouTube.
The Flower That Inspired My Cutter
This lily of the valley is actually the origin of my original clay cutter.
At the time, I was trying to shape everything by hand, and making each of those delicate little flowers one by one was incredibly tedious. I kept fussing over getting them thin, even, and just right — it took forever. That’s when it hit me: “If I had a cutter, I could make these faster and more beautifully!” And that was how it all began.
No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find a cutter that could cut out lily of the valley shapes — and I had no idea how to make one myself. So I started teaching myself from scratch. When the very first one was finished, the sense of achievement was incredible. The difference was night and day. Beautifully shaped flowers, done in an instant. It was hard to believe how much I had struggled before. The lily of the valley cutter was the very first cutter I ever made — a tool I hold dear as proof that when something doesn’t exist, you make it yourself.
Since then, I’ve continued refining it — improving the materials, handle shape, thickness, and more — to make it as easy to use as possible.
Making Video
I’ve also posted a tutorial on YouTube. You can watch the full process, including how I use the cutter, so feel free to check it out!
Small and delicate, lily of the valley is a wonderfully rewarding flower to make in clay. If you’d like to create yours quickly with clean, thin petals, check out the lily of the valley cutter below ↓
