Mother's Garden in Georgia Introduction Mother's Garden in Georgia, in the southern part of the U.S., is north of the capital, Atlanta, a drive of about an hour and a half. The area is at the foothills of the three thousand mile Appalachian mountain range. Spring is long, summer is hot and humid reminding one of Pondicherry, autumn is beautiful and winter, though once every few years a light snowfall descends, is usually mild until freezing temperatures in mid January. In late February the first daffodils (Power of Beauty) appear in masses of 10,000-20,000. Soon after the strikingly beautiful hybrids of the ÔCup and Saucer' magnolias (Magnolia soulangeana) and the sta

Mother’s Garden in Georgia - April 10, 2012 Lilacs and Fragrances For the past week, wherever I walk in Mother’s Garden the fragrance of lilacs, even in the slightest breeze, trills the soul. Though this is a climate said to be too warm for lilacs they flourish in Mother’s Garden and in pocket microclimates in this area. Perhaps the influence of the lake has something to do with certain cultivars blooming for us regularly. I don’t really know but I do know that their perfume is enchanting and one never tires of it. We do have a he

Mother’s Garden - April 1, 2012 Spring! Flowers are the moment’s representation of things that are in themselves eternal. Sri Aurobindo Not only beauty but destruction as well this week in Mother’s Garden. A worker failed to watch the fire in the burn pit and a strong wind came up and blew sparks onto the leaves and the woods caught fire. Huge rhododendrons fifteen years old were destroyed at the border of the garden. For the past weeks we have all been praying for the fires at Ol ari Nyiro the 100,000

MOTHER'S GARDEN - March 21, 2012 Abundance of Beauty Azaleas and Rhododendron Jet lag is over, five months of mail sorted out, taxes sent in, suitcases unpacked and now – into Mother’s Garden. This is the earliest onset of Spring I can remember. Temperatures have been in the low 80's (28C) for days and everything is breaking dormancy. Bird song fills the air from early morning. The deep red Cardinals fly into the bushes bordering the road to build their homes in the haven of Mother’s Garden. Twice n

On Flowers and Their Messages Flowers have been the mediums for messages since time immemorial. In the Victorian era they were used as love notes to convey the deepest feelings between lover and beloved. Yet long before this usage flowers were offered to the gods as vehicles of prayer and devotion. They have also been for ages the most beautiful and heartfelt way of expressing grief and reverence for the dead as well as treasured offerings on the occasions of births, w

A Note of Thanks First and foremost, the gratitude of all the world and especially disciples and devotees of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother should be offered to Tara Jauhar for her careful and diligent preservation of Mother’s commentaries on the messages of flowers. When I visited Tara at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi branch, she showed me a cupboard filled with books she had prepared to hold the commentaries Mother gave when we were preparing the first major revision of the fl

Flowering Vines Protection The Brilliant Bougainvilleas There are many types of vines and they come in all sizes from those that attach their roots to walls, to those that twine around objects to others that climb to great heights to spill over arches and fences and even those that trail along the ground. Mother has named many beautiful vining plants and there are still many more whose significances are yet to be discovered. Unlocking the genetic codes of many species has led to breakthroughs in colour, size and beauty, especial