As I was driving down the street in Gainesville today I passed our former home. I had noticed before that the surprise lilies, AKA naked ladies, were blooming to beat the band. They are such a treat to see in the latter days of summer. Boom. There they are. Bare stems topped with impossibly gorgeous blooms. They come from bulbs. When the leaves emerge in the spring they are nothing to look at. Just your common ordinary plant leaf. They die back and leave nothing to mark their place. But in the driest and hottest month of the year...here they come...bursting through the hard and dusty soil.
Alice Lord gifted us with two bulbs when we moved to our house in 1983. She told us that we needed to take care of them. Sometimes they would refuse to thrive. Sometimes they were just contrary. Just like a lady. So we put them there by the fence. We watched carefully those first few years. They bloomed...just a few flowers. We nurtured the ground where they were planted. Tried hard not to plant anything that would compete with them in that place. And year after year..more blooms. Until, when we spent our last summer in that house, they were spread all along the fence line. Alice was very serious when she shared those two bulbs with us. We are glad she did. They make me smile when I see them. And remember the one who gave them to us. Sharing beauty. An amazing treat to see in this most unexpected time of year.
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