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The Surprise Lily
If you are driving over the mountain and exit in Monteagle this last weekend in July you can enjoy a real treat. The Mountain Market over the years has brought together crafters and artists and cooks and gardeners. It has been some years since the day lily lady was with us, but there is always hope for a renewal of that feature and if you have been too lazy to plant your own caladium bulbs you may find some of these beauties. A dear departed friend of mine who used to come up from Texas called them “Canadians” just to get me rattled. Cannas are usually available at the Beersheba market later and it is fun to go to that too. Actually, you should start Summer bulbs in the Spring. One of my favorites is the “Surprise Lily” which my father called “naked ladies.” What happens with this bulb is that in the early Spring you get lush green leaves or fronds and then it appears they have died. The soil looks bare until mid or late July. A stem looking like an arrow then shoots up and in a day or two you have a beautiful pink bloom on a two foot stem. Then you see up to ten more blooms which, unlike the day lily, last several days until you have a little group of trumpets to greet you and cheer you on. I brought my first ones from Mississippi and then found the quite proper and quite properly clothed lady had a few of them in a school room when the Mountain Market was held on the school property. I was thrilled to find more.
One of the best gifts you can give a friend is a perennial or a bulb. They will think of you every time it blooms.
You can usually get an instant sign for your house at the market. A host of volunteers who have answered the call of the Chamber of Commerce make everyone welcome.
On this particular weekend lots of people have guests and family members come join us. I have two very special bishops and their gifted wives who, hopefully, are the subject of a news article elsewhere in the View. Bishop Wilbert Bailey and his wife, Barbara, are here from Washington, D. C., and Bishop Council Nedd and his wife, Rebecca are here from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The whole mountain is alive and beautiful and so is the valley. Don’t just count your blessings, bless your ability to count them. Turn off the television and avoid the political ads. Enjoy July because August is going to be hot. Look out for visitors and welcome them. |
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