I come from changeling stock. My mother was a wild child who sprang out of Mother Earth like a sprite being born, and she passed her cherishing of nature on to me.
One early summer day back in the late sixties, my mom and I were out together for a trip to Searstown, one of the early malls in South Jersey. On the way home, we took a shortcut through country roads , and came upon thousands and thousands of bright orange tiger lilies. They were like a carpet, growing in true reckless abandon along the road and into the piney woods for at least a mile.
Unable to contain ourselves, we stopped the car and picked armfuls of them, leaving hardly a dent in the huge masses of lilies, and we laughed and chattered like two girlfriends, which we were and remain to this day. We also gathered Queen Anne's lace, and we knew that the two species would make the most perfect summer bouquets.
Laughing and talking, we entered the house with our packages and all those flowers, but it was the blooms which garnered our attention as we rushed to get them into vases before they wilted.
My dad came in from his workshop and looked on in bemused wonder. We must have appeared slightly daft, rushing around with great gobs of color in our arms. Eventually we came back to reality, after putting each vase of flowers in just the perfect spot, and showed Dad our purchases.
Later, at the dinner table, being the poet and philosopher he was, he commented to our delight that he should have asked, "Where are my daughter and wife? All I see is fairies!"
It had been a magical day; one which I never, ever forgot.
Years later, returning to South Jersey for a visit, I went past that spot. It was gone. Where wild lilies had reigned supreme, hardly minding if some were picked to appreciate at home, now was a bumper crop of asphalt and boxes...apartment buildings, devoid of trees let alone tiger lilies and Queen Anne's lace.
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Comments: 25
As an aside - did you know that Queen Anne's lace was Katherine Hepburn's favorite flower?
Again, many thanks for such a wonderful article.
And yes, the ending is sad, but none too uncommon.
My landlord planted them all over the yard of my current house- it is indeed quite a joyous and riotous sight.
Donna, yes...so sad...I hope someone came and took some of the bulbs for their garden before it was destroyed.
Gisela, thank you. No, I didn't know that about Kate Hepburn. I used to be friends with one of her nieces when I lived in Paradise, California, and somewhere I have a recipe for a cake she used to make.
Maura, you're quite welcome.
Nancy, you would have never convinced me I would one day be such a close friend with my mom when I was 13. LOL!
Julian, thank you for such an insightful critique! Yay!
Jen, yes, we did bring home one lily with us and I planted it. Twenty years later half the back yard was lilies, and my dad was forever pulling them out like weeds.
Magi
Paving over your beautiful place is a tragedy. Too many beautiful places have been paved over and we are poorer for it.
What would be the grabber of a title for such a tale ? Why " Searstown" of course. This movie would be a hit .
Lovely story...but I am wondering. My daughter and I recently cut lilies from her garden for a vase and shortly afterward they began to droop and fade. Is one supposed to burn the cut or something to prevent that from happening?