Stargazing

After being subjected to the real world for a while by the trial and guilty verdict of an ex-President — as I shake my head and wonder how ANYONE could have voted for that narcissistic orange blowhard, it’s time to recover with the simple, joyful, garden beauty of a Stargazer Lily — like a palate cleanser, but instead for my brain.

I’m super allergic to the alluring fragrance of most cut flowers in a vase, but I can enjoy them in the garden without sneezing. Stargazers return every year; this is the first bloom to fully open, but you can see all the others waiting their turn.

Stargazer Lilies

A few months ago, I rescued a wilted and sad little Stargazer Lily from the back of a clearance shelf at the nursery. If I remember correctly, I paid a dollar or two for a one gallon plant.

I thought to to myself, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner” and brought it home with the hope of bringing it back to life with love and care.

My efforts were rewarded this week with a dozen or more heavenly perfumed pink blooms, perfectly timed for tonight’s full moon.

Stargazer’ lily (Lilium orientalis ‘Stargazer’) was developed in the late 1970s as a cross between Lilium auratum and L. speciosum to intentionally create a flower with upward-facing rather than drooping flowers. The tips of the flowers are “reflexed”—meaning that they curve back toward the stem—and they sport long, showy stamens.

They are among the most fragrant flowers. With a diameter of six inches or more, they have exceedingly showy blossoms—there is nothing subtle about ‘Stargazer’.

FYI…Like all lilies, ‘Stargazer’ is toxic to cats.