Beauty in Unexpected Places

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The Flamboyan-de-jardin (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) , also Caballero or Peacock Flower.  

Fire, passion, flamboyance. Beautiful.

Shot these photos at the garage of a motel which the hubby and i checked out for one of our out-of-town workshops. We thought that since we were on an overnight business trip we could save up by not checking into some fancy-shmancy hotel as we just needed a place to spend the night and get going early the next morning. While the hubby did the ocular i stayed by the car and whiled away the time by taking these shots.

The beauty one can find even in the most unexpected places! Fancy that.

Honey, they shrunk me!

Giant rose!

Ooh-la-la, kabongga-bongga! Saw a greenhouse with rows of this humongous red cabbage. For a minute  i thought i might have ingested some "drink me" potion that made me shrink like Alice in some kind of wonderland. 

Even with their  foliage riddled with holes, they still looked magnificent. I could boogie with delight!

I have a friend (we go all the way back to college) who is venturing into organic farming. Currently she is prepping her land, making it ready for planting. I expressed my desire to sink my hands in the dirt and work the land. It will do a lot of good for my sanity. I want to be a gardener. But 'til then i remain an acolyte.

“The master of the garden is the one who waters it, trims the branches, plants the seeds, and pulls the weeds. If you merely stroll through the garden, you are but an acolyte.” ― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Organic Farm at Chateau Royale Resort

I Want This Tree

photo from besthomedecorators.com

A Poinsettia Tree! No need for trimmings. The plants' leaves (yes, the colored parts are leaves while the flowers in the center of the leaf bunch can hardly be seen) can stand alone, excuse me. :) Here's a no frills, no nonsense tree that says Christmas. Red, flaming red. Bold yet simple. Just like Christ whose great love for humanity, for his Father, enabled him to come to us taking the human form with all the pain it entails. The essence of it all.

Check this link to see how a mall put it together:  Setting up a giant Poinsettia Tree

Legend has it (via Wikipedia):

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.  In Spain it is known as "Flor de Pascua", meaning "Easter flower".  In both Chile and Peru, the plant became known as "Crown of the Andes."

It's the thought. It IS the heart.

Fish Tales and Fish Tails

If you've been following this blog, you'll notice that most of my posts on plants have something to do with my mother or somehow find that thread to her. Her passion for plants was something i grew up with. She and my dad had this connection with flora that i suspect they had some kind of magic over them. It seemed that anything they grew would flourish right away. Of course i remember how they would lovingly attend to their plants, watering, weeding, fertilizing them. Plucking off parasites was de riguer, even wiping leaves with a damp cloth should dust accumulate on the surfaces and block sunlight from working its wonders. 

They bought plant books, gardening equipment, and collected lots of plants whose names i will never forget because they taught them to us. "Could you water the Peperomia? Could you pinch off the young tips from the Coleus? Why did you pluck the flowers of the Yellow Lady Slipper without asking my permission?"

I remember we had a Fishtail Palm or Caryota. I was fascinated with how each leaf resembled a fish tail. Everything connects in nature. Who we are, our memories, the things around us...We are but in one big space and time continuum where all is one.

“Once we were blobs in the sea, and then fishes, and then lizards and rats, and then monkeys, and hundreds of things in between. This hand was once a fin, this hand once had claws! In my human mouth I have the pointy teeth of a wolf and the chisel teeth of a rabbit and the grinding teeth of a cow! Our blood is as salty as the sea we used to live in! When we're frightened, the hair on our skin stands up, just like it did when we had fur. We ARE history!Everything we've ever been on the way to becoming us, we still are. Would you like the rest of the story?
I'm made up of the memories of my parents and my grandparents, all my ancestors. They're in the way I look, in the color of my hair. And I'm made up of everyone I've ever met who's changed the way I think. ”  

― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld, #32)

Stargazer

"Skyward, look skyward" this lily seems to say. You can not overlook this flower as its fragrance is strong and its petals are big and bold...one big announcement that stands out. Even by looking at a mere photo of it gives me heady memories of somber wakes. As if to console the mourners, they direct our gaze towards the heavens.

Back in the 80s, there used to be a club (or disco, as they called it then) where one could find "stars" -- people who have achieved some kind of celebrity status. As if being in their presence somehow elevated one's own social standing, hoping that the fame they possess will rub off on whoever came close as they danced to Rick Astley, The Breakfast Club and New Order.

And here's another thought. Those shepherds in the Nativity Story who from their posts among their flock of sheep were awestruck as they saw this one special star, a star so bright like no other, signaling the presence of One who has come to elevate and rescue us all from our miserable hopeless selves.

 Angels announcing the Nativity
(Angels appeared to the shepherds to lead them to the birthplace of Jesus)
 Painting inside the Church of the Shepherds in Bethlehem, Israel

Periwinkle

We have a family member who has since passed on, seven years counting. Her short-lived life tells of a life lived in a pain so deep that no amount of success in work and a string of relationships could heal. I look back at the times she was with us -- the laughter, the cups of coffee together, the honesty and vulnerability,  the sharing of our lives. She will always be present to us in those fond memories.

A few years back when we were relocating to a more suburby type of area in the metro, we thought of taking along something symbolic that she would always remain in our presence. As we were passing through the university campus on shortcut, the Periwinkle plant arrested our attention just as we were mulling over thoughts of her. It was decided that we would cultivate it in our yard. Today it blossoms many times over and every now and then a flower or two finds itself inside the house, thanks to our furry one who inadvertently acts as velcro to the flowers when he takes his bladder break.

Lilac Beauties

I have yet to find out the name of these flowers. It is as if we share a bond but have not been acquainted yet. Lilac Beauties i call them for now. They have been quite generous to me. Every morning they show up but towards dusk they fall off. So ephemeral. So fleeting their presence is. I am reminded to savor each moment.

We find ourselves at the tail end of the year once again. Time to take inventory of what worked, what did not work, and how we can be better without stressing ourselves out too much. Life gives us gifts. It is a matter of recognizing them for what they are.

Hibiscus

Showy, showy Hibiscus. On a leisurely walk with my son, he chided me for stopping to take a photo of this flower some four houses away from where we live. He thought someone might mistake us for robbers. I couldn't resist. It seemed to call out my name, grabbing my attention. I have long wanted to get myself a pot or two of this. So low maintenance and yet so generous with its flowers.

Not only will i have something to feast my eyes on, I will also have my cups of Hibiscus tea. I will also have pretty colorful garnish for my salads. And if i am feeling extra generous, i will allow students from the school nearby get some of its flowers for their Botany classes.

Kalachuchi (Plumeria, Frangipani)

Bulaklak ng patay or 'flowers of the dead' is also what these fragrant flowers are called in this part of the world. Though used in the Hawaiian islands as leis to welcome guests, folks here usually associate them with the dead. Nowadays they are popular effects to adorn spa bowls that greet weary guests.

With this i wish all our dear departed loved ones rest for their weary souls.

Ni Hao

I just adore this can. I keep it even though its contents had long been digested. Truth to tell, i bought this for the container and not for the assortment of biscuits. Yes, i am attached to it. How can i not be? It has lovely carnations on it among colorful birds painted on a gorgeous red background.  What a splash! 

When drudgery bites, birds and flowers are two of nature's reminders to me of things sublime.

Papaya!

Instead of the more commonly known flora, i decided to feature other flowers usually not noticed.  One example is the papaya flower. Yes, the flower and not the fruit. I myself have dismissed these blossoms, appreciated them only because it heralded the sought after dessert fruit which i love.

The flowers according to botanists have sexes. The male, the female, and a third sex (so inclusive, this plant) -- hermaphrodites. Interesting. If your papaya tree has male flowers it will not get pregnant (not produce fruit) as they say. Female flowers on the other hand, when not pollinated, will just drop off from the tree. It is the hermaphrodites that give you fruit. 

A closer inspection makes me appreciate not only the fruit but also its unassuming flowers. One day, i will try to eat them as well. Should this surprise you? In Indochinese kitchens, the buds of the papaya are blanched in hot water to remove its bitter taste and then stir-fried with eggplant and some condiments. Imagine your dinner table laden with a papaya dish, papaya salad, and chilled ripe papaya to cap off that meal. Papaya!

Peanut Plant

A distant cousin of the edible peanut, this ornamental gives credit more to the shape of its flowers for its name. This plant is popular as groundcover in urban landscaping. They spread fast and dot the landscape with lovely yellow sparks -- like concealer makeup for the ground's face. This makes one's walks along pathways a more pleasant one.

It is low maintenance and hardy in the face of drought. Hmmm, how wonderful that they can exude such attractiveness with so little care. They are consistent, too. I have yet to come across such plants bearing other colors. They seem to have laid claim to yellow forever.

Lavender Grace for the Morning

One of the perks of living in the suburbs is the peace and quiet of an early morning walk. We live very close to a park which is hardly ever manicured. The grass grows in wild abandon --- all the easier for my dog's droppings to be out of sight.  

Noticed that the flowers in the park (that of the grass, too) were all in the lavender palette. I connected to that -- it tells me my day will be one of harmony.

“When hope is fleeting, stop for a moment and visualize, in a sky of silver, the crescent of a lavender moon. Imagine it -- delicate, slim, precise, like a paper-thin slice from a cabochon jewel.
It may not be very useful, but it is beautiful.
And sometimes it is enough.”  

― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

White Ginger

Tropical storm again in these islands. The rains are once more doing their job of getting the dust off the air, the dirt off the streets, and gifting us with a whiff of negative ions. What's more, the White Ginger flowers are only happy to come out in wet weather.

Known locally as the Camia, its delicate white petals are extraordinarily ambrosial. I included the blurry shot for you to imagine it giving off its perfume.

Here's how i got my stash today: husband and i went to market together. In the fish section of all places, i smell something pleasant. I look down and i see a little girl hawking the last of her garlands to me so that she may have money to buy snacks for school tomorrow. I was only too glad to oblige. Helping a kid earn while combating fish smells, at the same time having the senses of touch and smell gratified. Good stuff.

In Cuba, the Camia is known as the Mariposa Blanca or White Butterfly Flower. I can imagine women in the olden days donning the blooms as perfume. Today, one need only go to their favorite beauty supply outlets to get lotions and colognes in variants of this scent.

La Hoya Carnosa

My fingers once squeezed these fleshy flowers and leaves out of sheer delight. Its waxy and leathery feel made it seem unreal, like plastic. Do you also have that compulsion, to touch and pinch flowers and plants to find out if they are real or fake? My mother, a consummate gardener once caught me doing just that and reprimanded me by pinching my butt. Not that i did not appreciate the beauty of the plant -- i just wanted confirmation.

What also struck me about the flowers were the stars in the middle which i tried to delicately extract so that i could pin them to my ear lobes as earrings. I wish i had this climbing on my porch now. We used to have it on trellis in our garage back in the province. Come to think of it, i have not seen such plants for a long, long time now.

• More known as the Wax plant or Porcelain flower, the Hoya as my mother called it (she liked to familiarize herself with scientific names ) is found to be an air purifier around the house.

Pampas Practical Joke

If you happen to be driving by a grass field you won't miss the Pampas, the tall fluffy cottony feather dusters.

As a little girl i fell victim to some meany's practical joke. The kid appeared to me to be nibbling at the stalk of this grass and enticed me to try it out to taste the 'sweet nectar" if i did (a Garden of Eden moment, if you will). The moment i pursed my lips on a stalk, he pulled the stalk end, with me ending up with a mouthful of the flowers' fuzzy parts. I almost cried. Such is my association with the pampas grass. Needless to say, my eyes were opened. 

Lady of the Night

Picture yourself in a garden beneath the stars. The house beside the garden is ancient but homey. The cicadas' sweet song reaches your ears while the soft breeze has a gift for you. It is the captivating scent of the dama de noche, those fragile white flowers which release their powerful fragrance at night. Though there is no one there but you, you do not feel lonely. You feel nurtured and rested.

Every single night you come out again and again to catch the magical mystery of why the fragrance is available only at nighttime.

Read the legend of the dama de noche.

Edible Katuray

Katuray flowers are rarely found in Manila markets. If you want to purchase them for your salad or as a side dish, you would have to go to the provinces such as Bulacan, Pangasinan, and Ilocos. Or perhaps at some weekend organic market.

These flowers are also called Hummingbird Tree /Corkwood Tree or Wisteria Tree flowers. Since they resemble petite birds alit on the tree i think it would be best to go by Hummingbird Tree flowers. If i had a big yard i would have this planted in it. Not only is its flowers edible, its roots, bark, and leaves are all useful.

So if perchance you find these edible blooms, go make yourself a salade fleur. It may relieve you of your headache, cough and colds.

Angel's Trumpets

photo from exoticgarden.com

What lovely ladies these flowers are. They look fabulous in their flowing gowns of yellow whose hems seem to channel Marilyn Monroe's photo where her pendulous hems were lifted by wafts of air coming from the subway. One can almost sense that had they been personified, they are stepping out for a night of ballroom dancing. 

But let not these dainties fool you. They possess a power so strong that its ingestion can send you to a different plane. I remember thrill-seekers in Baguio would smoke these campanilla as they call it and get themselves high.

An overdose causes death as every part of this plant, beautiful as it is, is poisonous. Just look. Don't touch.

Chain of Love

photos from citynoise.org

photo from mgonlinestore.com

The Coral Vine/Queen's Wreath or Antigonon leptopus is a much unappreciated plant. Nobody needs to attend to them as they thrive so easily just like grass. Left on its own, it will provide a covering for everything they can get their tendrils on -- your walls, your arches, your trees, your fences --- they are not picky.  No wonder the MMDA has chosen this lowly vine to somehow prettify the metropolis.

Its flowers are heart-shaped and they come one after another in chain-like fashion. Hence, the name cadena de amor or Chain of Love. Pretty.

They used to have a Cadena de Amor Festival at the University of the Philippines where annually (before classes ended second semester)  junior and senior students gathered linked together in masses of human chains by passing the garlands. It symbolised a turn-over of responsibilities and bequeathing of values and what the university stood for from the older to the younger. Links and continuity. But sad to say, the tradition  is no longer there. It was last held in 1968. 

Golden Blessings

photo by Katg

I have these sunshiny cascades in my garden. I first saw such flowers in Casa San Pablo where we were having a workshop. They had hanging planters of the Golden Garland as accents in the garden and nearby sheds. The plants were so lush and healthy you'd think they were artificial --- i could not keep my eyes off them. Gold does that to  you. All because the owners are such green thumbs. This led me to bug my husband to ask the helper at the country inn if we could bring home some to plant. Good thing they had some young plants for sale. 

photo from pinoyexchange.com

Surfing through the net i found the above photograph -- a pathway with an overarching trellis of the Nong Nooch Vine as they call it in Thailand. I was blown away by the possibility of one day having to walk under such profuse golden showers. That would be a wonderful blessing indeed. Already, though i have yet to make my plants as lush as i would want them, its yellow petals have already attracted a couple of birds with a needle-like beak. They were sipping nectar as i was having my morning coffee. Such a pleasant surprise.

photo of hummingbird from Only Positive.Net

Now i'm not sure what the pair of birds were because i am only used to seeing the ubiquitous mayas in our area. But it sure looked like the hummingbird. Divine.

Edelweiss Send Off For Sec Jess

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Every morning you greet me

Small and white, clean and bright

You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Bless my homeland forever.

Singing this song makes emotions flow through me. My mother sang this often to me when i was just starting my schooling. The Sound of Music will always be part of my wonder years. 

Edelweiss (German for noble and white, pronounced 'edelvice') flowers withstand extreme altitudes providing gentleness in harsh settings.

The song's popular tune came to be used as a benediction beginning in the 70's.

"May the Lord, mighty God,

Bless and keep you forever.

Grant you peace, perfect peace,

Courage in every endeavor.

Lift your eyes and see His face,

And His grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty God,

Bless and keep you forever."

Tender, so tender.  Listen.

Budding, Blossoming

Peony bud

Dahlia bud

How refreshing it is to come upon flowers that are yet to open or bloom. There is just something so powerful, energetic and exciting about them. Especially if you happen to be the person who planted them. I remember my mother being so thrilled seeing her orchids beginning to show -- first as little buds, then the suspense of what is to be --- drum roll --- the wonderfully vibrant petals! Such show offs for us to enjoy.

We are that way with our own children. We wait in expectation for their God-given gifts and talents.

Rafflesia

Rafflesia arnoldii
http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/Rafflesiaceae/Raff.arn.page.html

How can you stink and yet be a wonder to behold? One of my friends had the surprise of her life when  she and her husband were greeted by this giant in one of their treks in the mountains of the Compostela Valley. Though it smelled like rotting meat she would not pass up the chance to have her photo taken with her face beside its unbelievably huge petals.

This flower is a good reminder that despite each other's shortcomings and imperfections, we all have something marvelous about us. We just need to look deeper, if not closer.

Verbena

photo by Kim Day

photo from orchidflowers.wordpress.com

I so miss my mother's green thumb. Rather i miss her being around (15 years gone this day). She has long passed on to the best garden imaginable perhaps. When i see flowers like the verbena, memory of her is evoked. She used to have these in pots and would teach us to pinch off shoots so that it may grow more lush. 

These clusters are associated with the divine. In ancient Egypt it was known as the "tears of Isis." In early Christian folk legend the verbena was said to be used to stem the flow of Jesus' wounds such that it came to be known as the "holy herb."

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

Wild Rose Field
by Lena

Rare is the woman who does not love roses. Why, even my own son had only the rose plant in mind when he considered working our little garden. The rose has always stood for beauty and life, love and joy. So divine in essence. 

Yet for all its beauty, the rose is encircled by thorns. Just like life, though strewn with challenges, even pain, there is also tenderness, sweetness, and some fragrance. 

Step Up or Step Out

With a burst of inspiration, i found myself jotting down a list of reminders to myself. As if feverish, i return to my notes with additional stuff i'd like to commit to memory --- first. I am such a procrastinator that without such lists, i would end up not having a single thing done. 

Occupying a page and a half of my coffee shop planner are the following;

"CHANGE. Discipline. Consistency. Commitment. 

Meditation : wake up latest 5 am; do the examen before sleeping
Stewardship of time: Avoid Facebook; bring awareness and creativity everywhere i go; be constantly busy around the house
Stewardship of money: focus on saving. You don't need more clothes and more books (there's still a lot left unread).
Self care: pay attention to what you eat; exercise; avoid toxic thoughts
Learn something new: a craft, a language, or painting"

Half the year is over and i do not want to go over these days come January having regrets or looking back at wasted days when i did not pay attention or have done nothing to grow. Venus Williams, the tennis celebrity said "I know when it is time to step up, not to revert back to bad habits but to keep ahead with the good ones." 

It is time. It may be overdue but here i go. Stepping up.

 

Prison Break

"Faith goes out through the window

when beauty comes in through the door."

So said George Edward Moore, an English philospher "well known for his advocacy of common sense concepts, his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics, and his exceptional personality and moral character."

The photos were taken a few days ago at the Bureau of  Corrections in southern Muntinlupa.  I love the lattice work on the windows. They exude both a masculine and feminine feel. The portal to the building on the other hand is like that of a church: huge, solid, of old, and welcoming.  As you step into the building the air of authority is felt. Many a convicted felon has passed through this door to his place of confinement, tucked away at some cell, his personal freedoms curtailed.

The inner sanctum which i have not had the opportunity of seeing leaves  me wondering about our own brand of imprisonment. 

We may not be physically in such a facility paying for some misdeed or crime, but with our own negative and growth stunting mindsets and behaviors we can just as well be locked in. Addiction, envy, jealousy, hatred, cynicism, guilt, fear, insecurity, unforgiving. The list is long. 

Only when we allow faith to flourish  and open ourselves up to new ways of perceiving shall we, with courage, let our shackled selves go.