Chinese Sacred Lily
 

Not a lily at all, but Narcissus tazetta (var orientalis). Narcissus tazetta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have a very nice clump of these growing near my front door, tho most are now past their prime. Intoxicating fragrance :)

Pretty! wonder how the word lily got in its name, it's very clearly not a lily. so were yours blooming it time for the chinese new year?

Very interesting. I've never seen those.

I don't know how they became called 'lily' ... I got the bulbs somewhere some time ago - only with the name "Chinese Sacred Lily" - I didn't know what they looked like or anything - they came up and bloomed every year, I never paid too much attention, til a few years later I looked at them and thought "Those look like Narcissus" - took a whiff of the scent, and thought again "Narcissus" lol - looked them up online, and found they were indeed Narcissus ;)

Yes, Chinese New Year was January 23rd (Year of the Dragon) - I had some of these blooming a few weeks already by then ...

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I just noticed some other people in my neighborhood have some of these - they're rather small and easy to overlook probably ... Certainly are easy growers, cheerful looking, and wonderful fragrance! Plus, I love cheerful blooms in winter!

That is a marvelous flower, Sonya ! I love white fragrant flowers...majority of my collections are ...

What a cheery flower to have in January. Definitely going to include these in my garden when I get the chance to expand my bulb collection.

Just noticed the first bulbs poking through the ground at my university. Meanwhile the crocus and other early bulbs at home on the west side of the state are probably already in bloom.

thanks everyone :)

Gotta love winter bloomers! And I love the Narcissus fragrance!

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oh, crocus! well too late for me this year, but I wonder if I can find some space to put some in! I just love them!

That's indeed an important ornamental for our new year in Taiwan and in China. But the temperature is too hot for the plant to survive in summer. So, the bulbs are casted away while they finish blooming. New bulbs are imported from other countries in next winter.

oh wow - that's interesting