The kindness of strangers . . .

By MEGAN RATHZ

When Nature Speaks

No flower ignites an excitement in me quite like my daylilies; they are the cherished gems in my garden, offering a fresh abundance of color with the dawn of each day.

One of my favorite things about daylilies is that they are an excellent source of cover and a place for our wildlife to raise young, which are two of the main pillars in having a certified wildlife habitat. They are also a wonderful nectar source for pollinators. My little girl loves waking up each morning to see which daylily has bloomed; finding the fresh blooms is as exciting for her as an egg hunt on Easter morning.

I am not talking about the daylilies that are in the parking lot of every dentist’s office or in the median of every busy intersection. The daylilies I have acquired have been moved from various houses, dating back to the home I grew up in as a little girl. They are not only unique; they are beautiful and meaningful to me. We moved to our new home about a year ago, and I knew I had to reconcile that while I could take many of them with me, it simply was not possible to take all of them.

I have many memories tied to my daylilies, but my favorite was from when we were first married driving down the road and saw a wheelbarrow filled with bright orange ditch lilies with an invitation for anyone to take them. Someone was having landscaping done and they decided to share them with any passerby. I told my husband to turn the car around and that we were taking the lilies to give them a new home. That flowerbed turned out to be a focal point of our old yard. How beautiful is it to share your flowers with complete strangers, asking for nothing in return?

We moved to Hamilton County about a year ago, and recently, I heard that the buyers of our old home had decided to move. I immediately started having a panging feeling wondering if maybe, just maybe, I could reach out to them and see if it would be possible to go back and get more of my daylilies. I felt like this was one of those now or never moments. My nervous inquiry was met with a gracious response, telling me the lilies are still mine and to come and get them.

My husband and I returned as visitors to our once home with a couple of shovels, ready to dig up old memories. The buyers seemed to understand how important they were to me, even though we were strangers. They told me to take whatever we wanted and sat there while my husband and I were digging, chatting with our little girl, and even got a blanket for our son to lay on in the grass. This moment brought me to tears; I was overcome by the kindness of these strangers. They wanted absolutely nothing in return. My own flowers were being shared with me in this beautiful full-circle moment that left me feeling content, knowing there is a lot more good in this world than the news cares to share with us.

We pulled away from our first home in two cars loaded to the brim with boxes and bags of my daylilies, knowing it was probably the last time we would ever be in that home. I was reunited with a piece of my heart that I did not realize how broken it was, until I had the chance to go back and get them. I said to my husband what a lovely final moment to share in a place that we loved and spent so many wonderful years. They will never know how they gave me back my old friends to bring to my new home.

A few days ago, my husband and I were driving down the road when I noticed a pile of flowers and a sign that read, “Free Black Eyed Susan’s.” Once again, I told my husband to turn the car around because we were going to give them a new home. Perhaps these Black-Eyed Susan’s will become another focal point in our new yard, and all because of the kindness and generosity of strangers. 

Share beauty with others and ask for nothing in return. Nature is affording us the chance to bestow kindness to others. How will you pay it forward?

Megan Rathz is a wife, mother and teacher. She says everything she has ever learned in life came from her Master Gardener mother.