I often wish daylilies would last more than one day. The pristine blooms open before dawn and are healthy and bright all day. They don’t take naps. They don’t close up at 4 o’clock. They are not easily bruised and battered by a rainstorm. But at sundown they quietly curl into shriveled gold, just a flimsy rag of a lily no good for more than a memory.

Bright blue Nile lilies, amaryllis, cannas, and callas and costas bloom for a week or more. But not beautiful daylilies. Yet daylilies–golden ones, orange ones, burgundy, multicolored, all kinds of daylilies–are treasured for their one day’s reign as beauty queens. Our Creator, when He was on earth as a man, noted how the lilies outshone Solomon in all his glory. In only one day a single lily can brighten our garden, give us joy, make our hearts to sing.

Those who have gardens of dozens of varieties of daylilies may enjoy the stunning colors for weeks. I have seen a few of those gardens, marveled at their beauty. We, too, at our house across town, were blessed with many more daylilies than we have here. But here, our season is about over, except for the rare singles that surprise us even in September.

The daylily’s scientific name is Hemerocallis, which means “beautiful for a day.” I love the mixed yellow and burgundy, intricately marked by the Master Artist. Then there’s the solid burgundy, the tiger tawny, every color from strawberry candy to prairie blue eyes–that’s if you scroll through the daylily selections online. There are hundreds of varieties with new ones developed every year.

Of our few daylilies, my very favorite is the generous, delicately petaled golden one. Each day a new one opens to take the place of yesterday’s bloom. Each one is a gift to be treasured, if only for a day. Whether beaded with fresh raindrops like the one above, or silky and elegant in bright sunlight, each one takes its place in the garden fully confident of its importance for that day.

Consider the lilies how they grow; they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27 (KJV)