How lovely is the lily

I smelled it the instant I stepped from the car.
The sweet, tangy scent swam on the humid evening air, sliding on the warm breeze - an unexpected surprise.
Before I dragged the groceries out of the car, I ran around the side of the house. Its vibrant pink petals atop the rich green stem, the stargazer lily is truly a star among the plants at our home.
I always thought that the stargazer was a lily born in an exotic place. I know the ones in my wedding bouquet came from Holland. They almost did not arrive in time because I was married 11 days after Sept. 11, 2001, and a lot of planes weren't flying then.
I've told the story many times that the one thing I knew for certain about my wedding was that I would carry stargazer lilies. I couldn't picture my dress. Or the cake. But I could picture my bouquet. And, actually, it turned out much better than I imagined.
So when I saw a box of stargazer bulbs at Wal-Mart, I was taken aback. Could I grow my favorite flowers on my own? In my very own flower beds?
Turns out the answer is yes. Stargazers are not an exotic lily, although their colors can be quite tropical looking.
On a Saturday morning when Kenny was at the farm, I planted my six bulbs alongside the house in a place I hoped would not attract attention from the dogs or the legions of squirrels that seemed to be digging everywhere in our yard. I think we have a special breed of squirrels that suffer from memory loss because they seem to be struggling to find the walnuts they buried last year.
Four of the lilies came up fairly quickly. Then a fifth. And, finally, last week, the sixth has poked its head out of the mulch. I don't know if it is going to bloom this year since it is so far behind the rest. It was covered by some extra mulch the Ump had put down in the side flower beds.
The plants budded and then it seemed like forever as the long, slender flower grew and grew. Eventually, I could see a hint of the color and for the past two days I have been waiting for the flower to unfurl.
I drove right by, but she lured me with her sweet fragrance.
As you can tell, I grabbed the camera to take a shot. In a few days maybe there will be multiple flowers to photograph.
I am going to plant a whole bunch more next year - maybe even some different color lilies in a different area. But I am going to very carefully cultivate my stargazer patch and so I can relive one of the happiest days of my life all summer long.