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Sunday, May 1, will be the traditional lily of the valley day. No holidays therefore for the producers of the small bells. Report in Martillac, near Bordeaux.
In Martillac (Gironde), in a lily of the valley farm, a dozen people are busy with calibration, Wednesday April 27. No less than 200,000 strands must be sorted meticulously, in just a few days. “When you receive the bouquet in buckets it can be tangled, so you have to be careful”, explains Ingrid Faure, lily of the valley sorter. The sprigs are stored after harvest in a cold room, at 20°C and 90% humidity.
If the know-how has been mastered here for three generations, it is still a race against time, a few days before May 1st. “In five days we have the calibration, the packaging, the shipping, the reception of the customers who come to pick it up here”, explains Jacques Dubern, lily of the valley farmer. It is then necessary to wrap the sprigs of lily of the valley, and place them in boxes. 200 are sold in a few days, mainly to florists. A merchant, who came from Angoulême (Charente), is delighted with the quality. In 2022, the year announces pretty lily of the valley, after years of complicated weather.