Daylilies are a relatively new addition to my garden. At first, I avoided them because of the short life of the flowers. They are aptly named “daylilies,” or hemerocallis, meaning “beautiful for a day.”

The truth of the matter is that the plants bear multiple flowers, which open up throughout the span of a few weeks. There are many types of daylily, which can bloom as early as May and as late as August. Some varieties are “rebloomers,” and can have multiple flushes of blooms stretching all the way through fall.

Daylily growers are concerned with many characteristics in new varieties. One feature that is very desirable is something called the “eye zone.” Daylilies that sport a contrasting middle, whether one color or several hues, are highly prized.

Some of my personal favorites are American Baby, Carpetbagger, Age of Miracles, Janice Brown, and Blue Buzz.

Even the shrubs have eyes. The six Altheas in our garden are not the fancy named varieties, but they all have a darker, reddish area in the center, giving them an eye zone.

In the garden, eyes are all over the place. The eyes are the most prominent part of any face, and it’s odd that they are not as focused on serious and important issues. In this world, all the eyes on decidedly NOT focused on Jesus. But that will not be the case when he comes again.

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7, KJV).

We can divert our gaze to the trivial things in life, or we can begin to look to God for answers, for direction, and for hope.

Christine (Tina) Berglund