Blooming on Last Year’s Stem

A dried flower bud casing, burst open in summer, sepals curled back and dried in autumn, frozen and scraped by winter cold and frost, holds a perfectly round pink sunflare on a spring morning, blooming on last year’s stem.

The plant is evening primrose. In spring, buds line up along a tall spike, closed tight, green, full of potential. Late on a summer afternoon mature flowers open for the evening and into the night, then they close in the next morning’s sun, blooming again in the late afternoon. As summer passes the petals shrivel, fade and fall away into autumn, and inside the elongated cup and sepals is a seed, for next year.

I have always called these “winter lilies.” The dried seed pods open and curled back look like the petals of a delicate lily, lined up along the stem.

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