To give brightly-coloured lilies

[Camillathefirst]

It took me ages to choose because the selection wasn't great. Shabby flowers, tiny flowers. Even the most expensive were utterly underwhelming. The lilies were modest but in good condition. None of the flowers were open so that put me off a bit, but I chose them in the end. The flowers are for someone who's recovering from illness and it's just occurred to me that some people associate lilies with death. Should I ditch the flowers to avoid causing offence?

I love lillies and I've only ever associated calla lillies with death. They're my favourite flower but since being pregnant the smell makes me sick annoyingly. We've got cats and I keep them on the sideboard where the cats don't go and always pick up any dead bits so they can't be eaten. Plus I cut the stamens out as soon as the flowers open so they don't fall and stain.

As far as I know it's white lilies with the death association.

I love them. I had white ones in my wedding bouquet.

The only time I'd steer clear of giving them as a gift is if it was to someone with cats. So far, no-one has flung them back at me, been anything other than appreciative and put them in a vase.