149. It would be worthwhile having a cultivated garden if only to see what autumn does to it. ~Alfred Austin, British poet laureate

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Lord, it is time.
The summer was very big.
Lay thy shadow on the sundials,
and on the meadows let the winds go loose.
~Ranier Maria Rilke

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The beauty in the photo above, like the summer sun, is the color of gold.  And her petals have slightly wavy edges that seem to mimic the summer’s waves of heat that lead up to her appearance in the garden where she winks at people passing by with her long, wispy eyelash-like stamen.  In Latin the word “stamen” means “thread of the warp,” and it was Emerson who birthed the idea that “days are made on a loom whereof the warp and woof are past and future time.”  Apparently what he said ‘tis true since these threads of the warp are definitely forerunners of the future.  When they appear in the garden, hurricane season has begun and autumn is drawing near.  But who is she, this fair maiden dressed so elegantly in gold?  She and others like her are called Golden Spider Lilies, Naked Lilies, Surprise Lilies, Golden Hurricane Lilies, and/or Lycoris.  But whatever one calls them, they’re always dressed in their rich, apricot-yellow-orange finery, and their blooms which appear late in the summer after their leaves have disappeared create a lovely sweeping quality in the garden.  The official name of the species is Lycoris aurea, and it originated in China where it is known as “Hudixiao” (Suddenly The Soil Shines).  But she is not an only child; for she has an amazing sibling, Lycoris radiata, the Red Spider Lily.

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Now look again at the yellow one.  I deliberately blurred the outer edges of the photograph so the heart she was forming in the middle was more noticeable.

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in Heaven above and on earth below.  There is no other.  ~Deuteronomy 4:39  ✝

16 thoughts on “149. It would be worthwhile having a cultivated garden if only to see what autumn does to it. ~Alfred Austin, British poet laureate”

  1. Pingback: 149. It would be worthwhile having a cultivated garden if only to see what autumn does to it. ~Alfred Austin, British poet laureate | Sacred Touches

    • The funny thing is that I didn’t plant these. We bought this house in 1976 and it was only about 10 years ago that I found the silly things blooming in one of my beds. I guess the previous owner had planted them and over the years of taking better care of the yard, ithey were ressurrected. Since then they have bloomed sporadically and in varying amounts. So who knows what the trick is. I’m just always delighted when they show up. Blessings, Natalie

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    • Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ve planted another similar lily this year; it’s an Oxblood lily that is sometimes also called a hurricane lily for the same reason as the Spider lily. It’s also called the Schoolhouse lily because it usually is blooming when school starts back up. Have a great day. Blessings, Natalie

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    • Not quite yet, Annette. We’re still experiencing highs in the low 90’s and so it’s not yet cool enough at night for the changes to occur. I’m getting some more blooms on the roses, and the Maximillian sunflowers are blooming. My aster has buds but they haven’t opened yet. So it’s still a tad early for autumnal changes here in Texas. But it’s a comin’! Have a great weekend. Natalie

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