Does anyone else hate the smell of lillies?

[ThoseWhoFindThemselvesRidiculousSitDownNextToMe]

They're beautiful flowers, but the smell makes me feel sick, my sinuses close up and gives me a headache. I got some as a present last week and they've just flowered and dear god, the smell hit me as soon as I walked through the front door. I've put the vase in the garden so I can bin deal with them in the morning but I have the windows open and I can still smell them. Is it just me?

Apologies just saw your post now. Italian. I think this would probably be the case for most western Catholic cultures.

I adore lilies, both for their appearance and their scent, especially Stargazers. Anyone who wants rid of some is welcome to send them my way.

Yes

Not as bad as hyacinths

That’s interesting as I was reading this thread and thinking what’s wrong with you all they smell nothing like cat pee 😆

i find they smell sweet and overpowering a heady smell and they can give me a headache (as do certain perfumes)

They give me a really bad headache and I feel like I can smell them all throughout the house. I tend to throw them in the bin straight away now if I get any.

Boak, boak, boak!

Ditto Chrysanthemums and those things you grow in a vase from a bulb, hyacinths. @splothersdog that's the bastards, They MING!!

I got a bouquet from work a while back and had to leave it out the back (felt guilty throwing it away) as it had both lillies and chrysanths in it.

Smell of death.

Surprised anyone gifts them, they are funeral flowers.
Very bad taste as a floral gift,
as they have such a hideous overpowering scent, worst ones are the pink variety, even stronger than white ones.
If I was given lilies they'd go straight in bin.
The stamens really stain clothing, cut them
out asap if keeping.
Often displayed in shops / public places like receptions guess as they scent the whole area and look striking.

They are absolutely revolting - definitely smell like wee. I won't give them houseroom.

It's just the pollen. Wet a bit of paper kitchen towel. Grab the pollen wobbly bits and pull them away from the flower. Repeat for each pollen bit. Put it all in the bin. Do NOT get any on your clothes as it will never come out

Interesting, I've always loved lilies, visually and the scent. I used to grow them on my balcony and liked how strong the scent was when I came home. I'm not Western or Catholic and I had no idea they were associated with funerals. I've never had a cat and I'm not sure I'd recognise what it smells like.

Love tomato plant scent and hyacinths too.

Yes, they are awful, but look beautiful, shame.

It’s the one flower I hate!

I don't get anything pee-like from the scent, just find it much too strong in a confined space. Some hyacinths likewise, but not all of them - there's a white one (L'Innocence possibly) that smells sweet but non-cloying, that I like to have in the house in spring. And I love the smell of chrysanthemums - proper old-fashioned garden ones. One of the great pleasures of late autumn/early winter.

I love them. Love the scent. I have recently started to cut out the stamens to avoid pollen drop.

I get that they are associated with funerals - their scent overpowers that of decay.

My MIL used to fake cough whenever she smelled them. God, I really love those flowers.

They smell of death to me. Never understood why it was Odour of Chrysanthemums, and not lilies, for DH Lawrence.

I know I said above that I love them - I will stick my face right in a bunch to breathe them in. I love strong smelling natural scents - citrus, lavender, rose, patchouli. What's strange to me is people say they get this aroma from elderberries too. I have a black lace elder right by my door and only smell sweet smells from it. I have cats and can't stand the smell of cat pee - I use compostable sawdust and change their litter boxes fully twice a day because I don't like that cat smell in my house. I also like the smell of hyacinths and grow them inside every year before planting out the bulbs.

Not liking the smell of lilies is common. I always request none to be included in any bouquets.

I like them, however they give me a headache especially when it's a full bouquet of them.

I don't like the smell at all, and it's sickening when they start to turn. They set my dhs nose off so we never have them in the house.

I get the cat pee smell too, but to me they are mostly the smell of death - too regularly used at funerals. I really hate it when I get any in a bouquet.

Love them. Often buy a bunch of just lilies - particularly love tiger lilies and the scent is so perfumey and heady. But then I also love intense perfumes (oud for example).

I spray the stamens with hairspray (unscented is best, obviously, to avoid a clash) and it
stops the pollen dropping and staining.

I smell cat pee too.

They give me headaches/sinusitis too. Shame as they are also pretty.
I cut the stamens out while they were in the garden last night and bought them back in. I still don't like the smell (not cat wee but still not pleasant) but it's much better. They're just so pretty though look a bit weird without the stamens. Anyway, they started to drop tonight so have gone in the bin. But I can still smell them!