LILIES

Today I am embarrassed by a long delay in my comprehension of something which happens in our yard every year. And I never made the connection. 

Each spring we get daffodils, but we also get these big bushy sprouts of long, green leaves that look like they should be MORE daffodils, but they produce no flowers. They are in the front yard, on the side of the house, and in the backyard. After a few weeks the leaves start looking pretty ragged and I cut them down and throw them on the yard waste pile. 

Each year I think, "I need to figure out what that is and see if I need to get some specific fertilizer to get it to bloom." 

Of course, I never get around to it. 

It has crossed my mind to dig them up and just be done with them. They have been saved only by my inherent optimism ("someday they will bloom!") coupled with my inherent procrastination ("someday I will pull those out of the ground!"). 

But yesterday I remembered one of the many capabilities of the modern smart phone: the "Google Lens" app. I took a picture of the mystery plant to identify what type of flower I should be expecting.

The app worked: Lycoris Squamigera.

Also known as the Resurrection Lily or Surprise Lily. Or, as Melissa heard it: the Pop Up Lily.

And once I saw photos of the bloom, I instantly recognized it:

These things bloom at the end of summer - in the front, side and back yard of our house! - and I never made the connection that it was the same plant. Of course, the blooms coming so long after the spring foliage fades away is exactly why they are called Resurrection/Surprise/Pop Up Lilies. 

Thank goodness I never dug them up.

I am sure there is a great life metaphor in there somewhere. 

Maybe it's a metaphor about our impatience and giving up on something - or someone - too quickly. 

Before the blooming...