Canada's Star Aligns

CBC is having fun today reporting that Justin Trudeau has taken over the first spot as the sexiest politician in the world according to the UK Mirror newspaper.  It picked up these quotes from well-known national reporters in other countries: "In Canada Justin Trudeau's Liberals elected on a platform of sorry I lost my train of thought he's just so handsome." "For real though, congrats Canada on your hot grown-up-Howarts-student Prime Minister." In the Daily Mail article, they include a Youtube video of the 'time Justin Trudeau stripped for charity". And this quote from Richard Nixon in 1972: 'Tonight we'll dispense with the formalities. I'd like to toast the future prime minister of Canada: to Justin Pierre Trudeau,' said Nixon during a state dinner in Ottawa hosted by Pierre Trudeau. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3280490/Justin-Trudeau-named-Canada-s-new-prime-minister.html#ixzz3pCTMtgTq With the pictures in the article of him with his father in world-famous places with world-famous people, it is pretty impressive.  So I guess with star power like that, some starry flowers are matching pictures for the day.

The Lotus

Lotus are blooming at the Cole's Pond store.  This lotus was captured over the span of two days and you can see the spots on the flower petals in the third photo.  I drove by yesterday and a second lotus is blooming - it looks like a darker pink.  However, Coles isn't open on Sundays so it'll be today that I get to find out.    The Lotus is a revered flower and plant from ancient times.  Its meaning was creation and rebirth and "was a symbol of the sun because at night it closes up and goes beneath the water and at dawn it climbs up above the water..." How about this 'fun fact':  the lotus flower is a very popular tattoo.

The Lotus

I was lucky to find a few lotuses over the last year that were close enough and in good light so that I was able to photograph the details of the flower petals and stamens inside.

It is a distinctive plant:  the flowers, seeds, young leaves and roots are all edible, and we can get canned pods to use in salads.  I didn't realize that lotus plant fibres are also used to make fabric.   

The lotus has been recognized as a religious and cultural flower of significance by the Egyptians and in the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism.  It is the growth of its pure beauty from the mud of the pond that captivates:  "I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained." (Chinese Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi).

Today's images show why cultures associate it with elegance, purity and grace. 

Lotus - How Beautiful!

I find the Lotus flower to be amazing and magical.  Its centre is what makes it so wonderful - all the stamens around the dinner plate centre, and then petals in beautiful colours.

Here's an interpretation of the last image.

Lotus - A magic flower

This is one of my favourite flowers - Lotus.  It is the beautiful centre that I so enjoy.  This Lotus is at Coles Nursery in Grimsby, where I live.  Blooming in a pot, it is easy to get close, too.

Waiting for the Lotus to Bloom

I am lucky to have a great garden centre just down the street from me, in fact, in walking distance.  It has a pond store across the street from the trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.  I noticed the lotus the other day and it looks like it might bloom this week.  It got me started on lotuses.  I saw more last year than ever before.  They are not hardy in my zone - they are hardy in the Philadelphia area - and Chanticleer has a beautiful pond of lotus.  I also saw a beautiful stand at Lotusland in Pasadena.

Here are a few from last year - I was lucky to get some pretty lighting and be able to get close enough for a macro image of the lotus centre.

A Garden Like This - Lotusland

I was finally able to visit Lotusland last September.  It is located in Santa Barbara, and is a private garden open to the public.  Ten years ago, I wanted to visit the garden but it was the day before it formally opened.  As the garden is only visited with tour guides, it wasn't a possibility.  

This is a garden with stunning collections of cycads, cactuses, desert plants of all varieties.  Between Lotusland and Huntington, I saw the most number of desert plants ever.  It was a wonderful experience to see them so artistically displayed.  I could imagine desert gardening after these visits.  

Here is the entrance way with Ganna Walska's dedication.