What a daylily means to me.

At Bochner Farms, we are passionately in love with daylilies.  Of course they are beautiful and fill our summer days with a sea of color year after year.  Jim’s dad, Tom Bochner, was an avid daylily collector who passed the love of daylilies on to Jim and then to me.  There are literally thousands of different types of daylilies, and it is so exciting to be able to create brand new hybrids as well.  Daylilies are tough and strong.  They are beautiful, colorful, and so very unique each in their own way.  The rainbow of color just screams “Summer is here!”.

But there is one other huge reason that I love this perennial stunner.  Another very important reason that daylilies are so special.

It’s the very essence of what a daylily actually is that has me hooked.  The botanical name for daylily is Hemerocallis.  The ancient Greek meaning is derived from two words “day” and “beauty”.  The reason for this is because a daylily bloom (the actual flower) lasts just one day.  It emerges from bud in the early hours of morning, shines bright and bold all day, and then fades away that night.  But, not all is lost.  Multiple buds on each scape will bloom, thereby replacing it with a new daylily bloom the next day.  And another the day after that.  And on and on for weeks.  Sort of like it is re-born each day, with another chance to shine.  New and fresh and beautiful.

Imagine if we, as human beings, tried to do that same thing?  Approach each new day, feeling fresh and renewed.  Just like the daylily does.  What if we woke up each morning with the ability to cast off all the waste from the prior day and begin with a new perspective that allows us to shine bright throughout each day.  Just like a daylily does.  And then relax and renew each night.  Waking up to start fresh the next day, with a focus on soaking up everything life has to offer.  Wouldn’t that be great?

Embracing the fresh new day,  focusing on the “today” is especially difficult for me.  I’m a huge planner person.  I’m always thinking about the future.  Thinking about what’s next.  I’m super good at making to do lists and prioritizing projects, but I honestly struggle with embracing the beauty of the moment.  That’s why I love daylilies.  Walking amongst the blooms each day, I know that I must take the time to enjoy each one because it will most definitely be gone by tomorrow.

I hope you’ll consider the lesson of the daylily, and take time to soak in the beauty of the present moment.  Allow the talents and kindness and sense of community that YOU bring to the world to come to life each day.  And then refresh and renew to do it all over again tomorrow.

Hope to see you all at Bochner Farms LilyFest on July 13^th and 14^th.  The fields will be in full rolling bloom, and you will definitely find me there, soaking it all in.