What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name?

Surprise Lily. After a lifetime of seeing the Surprise Lily (as I call them) pop up by the thousands, i really should not be surprised--but I always am. 

Naked Lady. The bare stalks inspire the name and whenever a brother mischievously refers to it this way, first my grandmother, now my Mom, dutifully provides the expected pretend-disgusted reaction. 

Resurrection Lily. Clearly the most inspired name for this flower though I call it that the least. 

Spring comes and the leaves sprout and grow, then die back and disappear in June. With no sign of life for a couple of months it is easy to forget they will rise again in early August. The spectacular flowers, pink and fragrant, shoot from the earth, providing a couple of weeks of God’s beauty. The Resurrection Lily brings some peace and meaning to aching hearts from the loss of a son, a brother, arriving by way of nature. 

This Missouri summer has been a particularly hot one and followed a record-setting winter. I’ve recently lost several established trees and bushes from drought. But the Resurrection Lilies, as I now call them, are bursting and blooming in a way that can only be called Divine.

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"It grows where it wants, blooms when it wants, and doesn't bloom if it so chooses.”--an Unknown Gardener