Flowers-2

 __To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” – Osho I wanted to bring a little “something special” into the life of someone I deeply care about. We were having a special celebration lunch for a special happening and these kinds of events always seem to bring forth a burst of creative energy from within me. I was also already dancing in my heart. My thoughts turned to fruit and I remembered admiring edible arrangements at parties I had attended in the past - and enjoying them too. I thought: “Why not make an edible arrangement?” ...

 [caption id=“attachment_1163” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=““Rise to Power” Painting - St. George’s Anglican Church, Barbados”][/caption] Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block When I travelled to Barbados to attend a fabulous beach wedding, I didn’t know that I would be taken to visit a beautiful Anglican Church called St. George’s in the village of St. George. On the afternoon of my last day in “Beautiful Barbados,” I became a tourist. I took in all the scenery and the church itself and was happy to take many pictures. ...

[caption id=“attachment_1075” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Barbados Flame Tree”][/caption] “Poinciana, your branches speak to me of love Poinciana, your branches speak to me of love Poinciana from now until the dawning day Our love, will live forever and a day Blow tropic wind, sing a song through the tree Tree sigh to me, soon my love I will see” ……Song to the Poinciana I just returned from a beautiful wedding in Barbados. All the pictures in this post show the “flame tree” and its flamboyant display of flowers. This is what it is known as in Barbados. I always knew it by the name “flamboyant” which its display of flowers truly is. It is also known as Royal Poinciana, Pride-of-Barbados, Barbados Pride, and Peacock Flower. It seems that the name changes according to the part of the world you happen to be in." Pride of Barbados, Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is referred to by other names including Barbados Flowerfence, Peacock Flower, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Flamboyant Caesalpinia, and Dwarf Poinciana. The species name pulcherrima literally means “very pretty” and this plant definitely lives up to the name. The blooms of Pride of Barbados are incredible with terminal flower clusters showing an orange-red with a tinge of gold on the edges. Each flower is composed of five showy petals with very prominent six inch long red stamens." ...

[caption id=“attachment_1064” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Oh Beauteous Rose!”][/caption] It’s June 21st tomorrow and the first day of summer. Our roses are in full bloom now. I have been captivated by their beauty and enjoy looking at them every day. Being a budding photographer and naturalist, I couldn’t resist taking these pictures. They’re all from the front garden. [caption id=“attachment_1066” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Roses in June”][/caption] ...

 [caption id=“attachment_953” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. (Francis Bacon)[/caption] “The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don’t want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don’t have a soul.” (Thomas Moore) ...

“When we go out among nature, clay is returning to clay. We are returning to participate in the stillness of the earth which first dreamed us.” (John O’Donohue) High Park was packed with lovers of the natural world and beauty last Friday when I visited. It was a spectacular sight to see the Sakura in bloom. We all enjoyed nature’s bountiful beauty. We weren’t happy to just see the sight, we wanted to take it away with us. Photographers were everywhere. I had my camera along with me and the collages you see here were from that wonderful time. ...

 [caption id=“attachment_854” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption="~ Impatiens Flower"][/caption] Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see. (Jung) I’ve been finding myself very impatient with myself lately. Spring is officially here and the weather is still cold in Toronto. In addition to that, although some shoots are out in the garden, nothing is in bloom. I can’t seem to wait for the flowers to bloom. While I know that “patience is virtue” and it’s better to be patient than impatient, I can’t seem to bring myself to the possession of this virtue right now. This led me to looking at some of last year’s Spring and Summer garden photos that I had taken. The “impatiens” flowers with their bright colours caught my attention and the results of my impatience can be seen in this collage. ...

 I hope some day to meet God, because I want to thank Him for the flowers. ~ (Robert Brault) When I visited “Canada Blooms” yesterday, my heart resonated and echoed these words. The flowers were magnificent and it was truly a taste of what we are all looking forward to seeing outdoors in the not too distant future. In my last post, as I mentioned, I had not yet started collaging or blogging. I have also never used several collages in one post. However, in this post I will share several photos that I took yesterday and made into collages. Springtime is truly not very far away. ...

[caption id=“attachment_221” align=“aligncenter” width=“584” caption=“Spirea Cantoniensis (Bridal Wreath)”][/caption] If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom. ~Audra Foveo A few weeks ago, Spirea Cantoniensis (Bridal Wreath) was in full bloom. My soul, spirit, and every other part of me, was glad to receive this wonderful gift from Mother Nature. This shrub blooms for a short time in Spring and then fades to green foliage. As you can see from this collage, cascades of white blossoms hang on the branches and distill a feeling of purity, simplicity, and sheer beauty. ...

Spring comes to us bringing its own magic every year. Nowhere is this more evident than in the earth coming to life and producing a spectacular showcase of colorful, fresh blooms to make our hearts joyful. Spring is truly the Earth’s Birthday. [caption id=“attachment_59” align=“alignleft” width=“300”] To everything there is a Season[/caption] As I went about the garden and neighborhood taking the photos that are in this collage, I was mindful of the seasons that have passed in my own life and of the old verse, “To everything there is a season.” These kinds of thoughts were remote to me when I was in the springtime of my own life as I’m sure they don’t come to many people at that time of life. We tend to take life for granted. ...