Yesterday a bud, tomorrow a wilted has-been, but today a glorious beauty.

Garden fare is not just limited to your vegetable garden.  Do you have day lilies blooming in your yard now?  They are quite edibly delicious.  If you are familiar with Asian cuisine, you may be familiar with eating lilies.  Blossoms are sometimes stuffed.    I like to eat the buds.  Here’s how:

Day lily cluster

1. Collect:

It is called “day lily” because each day,  one flower in the cluster blooms.  They take turns.  Tomorrow’s is fine, but the next day’s bud and the following day is the best.  Any further than that, and they are kind of small.

Day lily buds to pick

Here are buds of just the right size.

Day lily buds

Just the right amount for a nice side dish for two.

Be conservative in your picking so that the beautiful orange blossoms can continue to decorate your landscape.

2. Cook:

Day lily buds ready to steam

Prepare the buds  just like you would green beans.  I like to steam my green beans.  They won’t take as long to cook though.  They’re just tender little things.

Then, I season with butter and a a bit of salt, but do whatever you like.

I’ve tried the buds raw and don’t care for them as they leave a nose-scrunching  aftertaste.

Enjoy your new found flower garden side dish.