Freesias and the Imagination

The freesias uncovered a childhood memory.

The first year the freesias bloomed from the bulbs that I planted deep in the ground, I was really happy to see them gracing my garden.

The years pass; every spring the flowers bring beauty and its light, delicate scent, almost like baby powder.

Then one day when I looked at the freesias, a memory from long ago came to my mind.

I remember when I was a very young girl, a page of a nursery rhyme book made a big impact on me.

It was a picture of Little Miss Muffet. She was in her garden, and the detail in the illustration that really captured me was the colorful flowers drawn with little feminine faces.

The freesias took me on that long journey back, to that piece of art that had so captivated me. I saw that little flower faces again, with their big, twinkling eyes and petals for hats.

Maybe, the freesias reminded me of the shape of the flowers; or maybe it is one of the mysterious ways that the mind recollects.

And it made me think: in a wooden house in the tropics, a little girl sees a picture of English flowers. But in the imagination of a child, unsullied by limitations, her mind is free to travel wherever it wants to go.

And that power of the imagination, ideally, should never go away.

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The Journey of Flowers

The Hong Kong Orchid in full boom. And  along the way, it also took on fascinating shapes.

Spending time in the garden has taught me a lot of things.

Not just about plants and soil, but also other things, such as developing patience. Being patient, while waiting for a seed to sprout, or for a new plant to show buds of color and beauty. Being patient while the plants shuts down for winter, or shed its leaves, looking bare and undecorative.

I also learn that some plants may not root, and also sometimes, you can’t give up on a wilting plant, and that it can be nurtured back to health.

But walking in my garden in late summer, I was reminded of a life lesson I had been guilty of forgetting: that in my focus to reach my destination, I sometimes forget to really enjoy the journey or the stops along the way.

It took several walks in the morning or early evening for me to notice the flowers in various stages of bloom. It was as though I had never really paid attention to this before.

The Hong Kong Orchid, in its first few stages of blooms, astounded me with a geometrical-like shape. The baby plumeria spiraled outward with verve, reminding me of a top.

The flowers “talked” to me. And so I have to thank my garden for leading me back to this awareness. Thus, this year, I will remind myself that on the way to my goal or to whatever else I desire, I will be mindful to enjoy the journey, and not just the destination.

The bud took on a crisp, geometric angle as the petals unfold.

The plumeria in full bloom.

I was fascinated by the way the baby plumeria spiraled outwards.

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Time Out

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A Shakespearean Garden

A sculpture of Shakespeare among the blooms. “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players;” (from As You Like It.)

Flashback: memorizing the Bard’s plays for exams.

The present: traipsing around in the Shakespeare Garden.

Wonderful experiences, both.

Learning to appreciate William Shakespeare’s poetic language, wit and wisdom was due, quite considerably, to the excellent literature teachers at my old high school, TKGS in Singapore.

And last weekend, I spent a light-hearted day visiting the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. It has several themed gardens including one inspired by the Bard.

The Shakespeare Garden is designed to look like an old English country scene. It features many plants and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare plays such as roses, poppies, violets, pansies and rosemary. A small plaque next to the plant displays the relevant quote or verse.

And thus I present scenes from the garden, and some favorite lines from Shakespeare’s plays.

"Speak low if you speak love." ( from Much Ado About Nothing.)

"I like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it." (from As You Like It.)

“This above all: to thine own self be true,..” (from Hamlet.)

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Musings in June

The month of June, in many parts of the world, spells vacations and flowers. It  marks the beginning of the months when flowers are blooming bright and strong, courtesy of the summer sun.

Flowers are one of nature’s finest gifts to us. They not only enliven the home, but can also improve our emotional health. Behavioral research shows that the presence of flowers in one’s surroundings triggers happy emotions in both men and women.

Flowers have a long-term positive effect on a person’s mood, and being in the presence of flowers promote increased contact with family and friends.

Talking about flowers, I have observed that it is not so common nowadays to find people with floral names. Some time back, we could come across or meet people named Rose, Lily, Daisy or Dahlia. I guess today, these names sound old-fashioned, and maybe uncool to some.

It’s the same in my Malay culture, although I think the floral names went out of style earlier than the Anglo-Saxon ones.  Names like Melati or Melur (jasmine)and Cempaka (frangipani, also know as plumeria)  are now associated with ancient times or what we call zaman purba. And for some people, these names often recall fictional characters in Malay movies and novels set in the old days. If you are a fan of old Malay movies, perhaps these names remind you, as they do for me, of actress Latifah Omar who was so good in her roles as the kampung (village) beauty.

The best things about flowers is that they are a universal language of beauty. And so, I’m sharing photos of flowers from both sides of the Pacific. The daisy  and godetia are from my garden in California, and the other two were taken at a beach resort in Bintan Island, Indonesia.

I love these daisies for the cheery color, and the flowers bloom continuously.

The spider lily could be found in many gardens in my old neighborhood in Singapore. But with development, they were not easily seen. I first heard the name of the flower when I was a kid. It fired up my imagination as I began to wonder and imagine that the spider had a hand in creating or weaving the flower. Thus, when I saw the lily in Bintan, it was charmingly nostalgic.

Flowers and water: an unbeatable combination for tranquility.

I discovered the godetia flowers this year. It is actually a wildflower, and the pink hue adds a sparkle to the garden.

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