I'm a Sunflower!

You Are a Sunflower

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

What Flower
Are You?

These sunflowers are not from my garden. I took them during my trip to another country. It was rainy and gloomy so  you see the sunflowers facing to different directions looking for the sun.

Many flowers open to the sun but only one follows it constantly.

Heart be thou the sunflower,

not only open to receive God's blessing 

but constant in looking to Him. 

-Jean Paul Richter

This post is an entry to:

Mellow Yellow             Today's Flower

Gardener's Dilemma

This flower is called "rak dokmai" in Thai language ( rak = love, dokmai = flower). I have yet to know its English name. I had 3 bushes of this.

I love its star-shaped flowers.

This kind of plant grows and blooms so fast.

The leaves and stems are tender and caterpillars love them.

I have seen many lovely butterflies born in my garden. And I love the sights of them!

These little critters can eat the leaves so fast.

Should I save my flowers or these soon-to-be butterflies?

In my garden, I don't only grow plants.
I grow butterflies, and wisdom to solve dilemmas in real life.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;  

in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6

This post is an entry to:

Macro Flowers Saturday

Letting Go...

My daughter bought me this potted plant (I have yet to id this one).

The lady selling plants told us that once all buds are open, we have to cut the flowers so we'll see more blooms. Ouch!

Sacrifice... letting go.... these words came to mind.

Yesterday, all buds were open and so flowers were snipped off their stems.

"Cast your bread upon the waters,
  for after many days you will find it again."

Ecclesiastes 11:1

"The only things we can keep are the things we freely give to God.
What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose."
C.S. Lewis

More flower photos here:
Today's Flower

Simply Beautiful!

Pink and white hibiscus are the 2 newest plants I have in my garden. I always love the simplicity of hibiscus. It's my classic flower chart whenever I teach parts of flowers to my students. It has all the basic parts children need to learn.

These days these flowers remind me to simplify my life. “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.” (Henry David Thoreau)

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

-Leonardo da Vinci

 “Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity.” 

- Plato

See more macro shots here.