“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower” – Hans Christian Andersen – I belong to your tribe.
Good day to you all my Lovely Friends. As I write today – I am thinking of Mother Nature’s Gift that makes us SMILE & Feel Good. It is something that instantaneously inspires us to Live Beautiful.
YES – I am hinting at “FLOWERS” – The prettiest thing on the EARTH.
Flowers are just Beautiful & Amazing to look at – A gift from Mother Nature that almost everyone loves – To me they are a wonderful source of inspiration for us. In the words of Luther Burbank – “Flowers always make people Better, Happier, and more Helpful; they are Sunshine, Food and Medicine for the Soul.”
It gives me immense pleasure to call myself a member of the Hans Christian Andersen tribe – simply because … I am sure when someone someday probes me to list down Three Things I Can’t Live Without or what would be the THREE essentials of my life – My answer would definitely have “FLOWERS” as my TOP PRIORITY in the list
Do you too belong to his tribe – Then you have a FRIEND in me 🙂
“Flowers are the music of the ground… From earth’s lips spoken without sound.” ~ Edwin Curran
Today as I write my third post in this series – I am excited to share with you some pictures from my aunt’s garden.
My aunt is blessed with the “Green Thumb”. She loves her plants & is great at gardening. Her love echoes in the ways her plants grow & blossom. I have had the pleasure of learning the art of Growing plants from her for she knows how plants can be nurtured to yield Happiness.
Truly Mother Nature LOVES her & has BLESSED her with this GIFT.
Here are few pictures of the flowers in her garden. I managed to capture the beauty of these “Beauties” during one of my visits to her place.
Deep pink, yellow center, strong brownish red band on back caught my attention. And instantly a necklace made out of a garland of Hawaiian flowers (called a lei) crossed my mind – transporting me to the islands of Hawaii.
This is the “The Royal Hawaiian” also called “Plastic Pink” – Simply because it almost looks artificial when seen from far.
This Hawaiian Beauty is known as “Pua Melia” in Hawaii but Plumeria is its botanical name. Hawaii & Plumeria – The names always reflective of each other – Do you know WHY – Because in several Pacific islands, such as Thailand, Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga and the Cook Islands, Plumeria is used for making leis.
Lei is a garland or necklace of flowers given in Hawaii as a token of welcome or farewell.
Now you know why the mere mention of a “Hawaiian Holiday” connects our mind to a Lei made of the Beautiful and Fragrant Plumeria flowers.
The tree produces a wealth of pretty pink flowers with a small yellow center, and, a great citrus fragrance. Indeed a sight to behold – An aura to Cherish. One look at the flower – reminds me of the words of Sigmund Freud –
“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.”.
Are you aware that the Royal Hawaiian is considered auspicious in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
This was something NEW for me…Though Hindus do not use the flowers in their temple offerings, the flower is seen as a symbol of dedication & devotion. But Buddhist use the flowers to adore their temples because in their culture the flower symbolizes immortality, probably because the tree produces new blooms even after it is uprooted. 
A closer look at the pictures connected me to a BEAUTIFUL realization…Here was yet another lesson in store for me that day…
“A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.”– Zen Shin
To witness how charismatically both flowers bloom in each other’s presence – Absolute No fear of competition – Teaching us to be HAPPY in our SPACES & Enjoy Life 🙂
My interest in the Hawaiian Flower led me to many new facts – Now this is INTERESTING – Read carefully – Least you fall in trouble…
In modern Polynesian culture the flower is worn by women to indicate their relationship status. Over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.
I will remember this connect when I travel to Hawaii & hopefully won’t mess myself – Or should I…only time shall reveal…
As I moved further, admiring the Beauty of Flowers in my aunt’s Miraculous space, yet another PINK BEAUTY smiled back at me.
This Pink Beauty belongs to genus Zephyranthes. Commonly known as the “Rain Lily” and the flower blooms all summer. The foliage is thick green grass-like and amidst this green backdrop bursts out a flash of pretty pink – attracting your attention 🙂
Have a look at this picture. See how fabulously the flower blooms – Indeed it is rightly quoted by Ralph Waldo Emerson – “The Earth laughs in flowers”
it is a pity that these flowers last for just two to three days after the bloom…and though the time they spend in this universe is less – The happiness they spread is infinite. Once again teaches introducing us to the art of LIVING a Meaningful Life.
One must always aspire to live a LIFE that MATTERS !!!
My aunt sure know how to make her Home a Paradise.
Zephyranthes are small perennial bulbs that can be grown with ease in any garden or even a balcony. Due to incredible tolerance to heat – They are the BEST option when one stays in the Middle East. With a flower color range from yellow to white to pink – Zephyranthes are the FINEST way to add some colour to our Gardens. 
When I came to know that the flowers can be easily grown in desert & yet they are known a “Rain Lily” – I was pretty impressed with the irony.
Rain & Desert have always been seen as two sides of the coin – How can then a flower that so easily blooms in the desert be named that way. Once again my SEARCH begins…
My search bought me to this unique feature associated with the Zephyranthes – Zephyranthes have the charming habit of sending up new blooms after a summer rain & hence they were given this Unique Name – “RAIN LILY” – Amazing isn’t it 🙂
In the backdrop – You can see the fading flowers. They look pretty different – Yet are Beautiful – This is the BEAUTY of Mother Nature…Even as they bid us farewell…they share with us HAPPINESS.
Flowers whisper “Beauty!” to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall. – Dr. SunWolf
I have heard that when these flowers bloom in clusters they appear like a bright colorful carpet. I have yet to witness this Magic of Nature – Until that day – I enjoy the bounty of Mother Nature with a Smile & some Kodak Moments.
The person who inspired me to write this post – Anju Gurdasani
Until we meet again – Sayonara from the Land from flowers 🙂
Journeys & Reflections 