A Royal Fantasy

In the predawn, the camera insists on going outside…

…for something magical is occurring.

It happens every year, but never before like this.

Not this many, not all at once.

The camera beeps menacingly, “Raise the flash”. There is not enough light. We must wait for those golden threads to shine just right on the pure petals. Time moves agonizingly slow.

In just seconds it goes from not enough to too much light. There is no miracle moment of just right.

Hours pass from morning to afternoon. Whites melt to rich, warm butter. The lowest patch, growing where it is the most shaded of the row, is last to open.

A new dawn brings yet more openings.

Darker and taller prepare to join in.

None yet are fading or folding, it is the pinnacle.

Perfection has been reached.

Sweet remembrance captured in pixels as we left for the beach holiday. We know it will be over upon return. And it was.

~~~

Lightly scented Longiflorum Asiatic Lilium ‘Royal Fantasy’, so aptly named, was added to the Fairegarden in the fall of 2004. Ten bulbs total, one in each hole, two feet apart along the eastern edge of the daylily hill were planted. They have become over one hundred, to the delight of all who gaze upon them. The Financier asked, “Do they usually look like this?” The answer, “Never before, possibly never again.”

(Added in 2014: The Royal Fantasy gala has continued to increase in numbers over the years, each year better than the previous ones.)

~~~
(Photos taken June 7, 8, and 10, 2010)

Frances