My Love Affair With Lilies

Lilies were not always a flower of choice for me. I really didn't pay much attention to them early on, but they have grown on me as I have aged. I remember seeing what we call "ditch lilies" along the country roads, when I was a child. I called them Tiger Lilies. Orange flowers with freckles. Also the Easter Lily in my Church at Easter time and then again at funerals. I started think that they were funeral flowers. We always drove to a lake that had water lilies....so pretty. The years went on and I grew more curious about these flowers. A friend had a mass of beautiful apricot lilies in her yard. She asked if I wanted some...when she divided them. I took them and put them in the back of my flower bed. The next year they were glorious. They started out with a mass of flowers. It was like they were trying to win me over. I imagined them saying, "Look at me, look at me....please give me a chance in your garden." My tastes in flowers was changing. I started looking at seed catalogs that came in the mail. Many times a different lily was featured on the cover. There came a time when the Stellas took over the gardens at many downtown stores and businesses along the road. They were a hearty plant and could take some abuse. I decided to buy a few. I put these in a more prominent spot in the flower beds. They grew and grew. I could pick bouquets now...I had so many. One day, I saw the Star Gazer and was completely wowed (is that a word?) I had to have this spectacular flower. Now I was hooked and wanted to find more in the Oriental family. These days, you will find me looking at lilies first in people's gardens. They always stand out in a crowd. They are still beckoning to me..." Look at me, look at me, Balisha. Take me home with you."

Balisha