-32_Protection - The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 3) - 09 Aug 2015.htm Protection: The Brilliant Bougainvilleas (Part 3) My bougainvillea 'guru' was a kindly and generous man and a brilliant grower of bougainvilleas. He was in charge of the bougainvillea displays at the famed 'Madras Club'. Every day of the year he would have at least fifty plants in full bloom, in fact, in such heavy bloom that one would not see leaves or stems, only flowers. (Let us call the colourful bracts, flowers, as most people see the bracts as flowers). My dear friend, now departed, wrote a small but excellent book on the cultivation of bougainvilleas

-43_Hibiscus (Part 6) - 01 Nov 2015.htm Hibiscus (Part 6) When I began sending the new hibiscus to Mother no one took the flower to a photographer. There were some watercolor paintings done but they could not capture the beauty of the flowers. Subsequently in Auroville, people began hybridizing the original flower that Mother named and ultimately lost the parent plant. It was a great loss for the Lal-Bagh also lost the originals. Over the years I have had promises from people to send the originals to us but it has not happened. I am fairly certain they are still available from nurseries in Hawaii but the loss is a sad one considering

-22_Orchids (Part 1) - 31 May 2015.htm Orchids (Part 1) The family, Orchidaceae, is vast with many genera, species and hybrids. Mother has given the following names to ten different species and genera. Attachment to the Divine Attachment of the Cells for the Divine Attachment in the Emotive Vital for the Divine Beauty of the Attachment to the Divine Detailed Attachment for the Divine Emotional Attachment for the Divine Exclusive Turning of all Movements towards the Divine Integral Attachment for the Divine Mental Attachment for the Divine Vital Attachment for the Divine

-14_Water Lilies - Living Symbols and Significances of Wealth (Part 2) - 05 Apr 2015.htm Water Lilies - Living Symbols and Significances of Wealth (Part 2) All wealth belongs to the Divine and those who hold it are trustees, not possessors. It is with them today, tomorrow it may be elsewhere. All depends on the way they discharge their trust while it is with them, in what spirit, with what consciousness in their use of it, to what purpose. SABCL, Vol 25. The Mother Generous Wealth Mother's Comment "Likes to be given and spread far and wide." Wealth in the Mind of Light

-40_Hibiscus (Part 2) - 04 Oct 2015.htm Hibiscus (Part 2) The hibiscus is one of the most beloved flowers in India, but not only in India as it has been hybridized in Hawaii and the mainland U.S. especially in Florida, the home of the American Hibiscus Society. In fact, many of the world's finest hybridizers are in Florida. I had the opportunity to meet some of the greatest including Harry Goulding of Punta Gorda, Florida, the grand old man of hibiscus hybridizing, now deceased, but his hybrids live on forever with their beauty and uniqueness of breakthrough colours and shapes. Harry shared with us all his techniques as did Gordon Fore and o

-42_Hibiscus (Part 4) - 18 Oct 2015.htm Hibiscus (Part 4) Wikipedia offers a well written treatise on Hibiscus and its importance in many countries. Here are a few notes taken from their article. The hibiscus is the national flower of Haitiand is used in their national tourism slogan of Haïti: Experience It. Hibiscus species also represent several other nations. Hibiscus syriacus is the national flower of South Korea, and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is the national flower of Malaysia. The red hibiscus is the flower of the Hindu goddess Kali, and appears frequently in depictions of her in the art of Bengal, India, often with the go

Gratitude I am grateful For this life above all lives because I met the Mother, received my initiation from Her and had Sri Aurobindo's Darshan. For every breath I take, for with each inhalation I aspire to take Mother's name. For the many difficulties life has put before me for through them I have grown. For the tears I have wept for others as they have increased my possibility to love. For the many friends who remember me, not only on my birthday, but often. For those who are antagonistic towards me or speak against me, for they teach me humilit

-04_Mother^s Garden (Part 2) - 25 Jan 2015.htm Blog #11 - January 25, 2015 Mother's Garden (Part 2) There is such joy in Mother's Garden, the haunting fragrances, the intense beauty of the flowers, the majestic trees, the many species of iris, including those that grow in the water, peonies, flowering trees, rhododendron and azaleas, the changing colours of spring, summer, autumn, and the ever-renewing magic of the lake. There are many visitors, including disciples and devotees, animals and birds as well, whether it be the black snake (harmless) who slides across my feet as I am raking leaves into piles where he is ho

-26_Magnificent Magnolias (Part 2) - 28 Jun 2015.htm Magnificent Magnolias (Part 2) I must admit that I am not in favor of the word, blog, which is to me a most unpleasant sound in English, something resembling a hybrid of bog and clog, so I will just introduce this next installment of 'Magnificent Magnolias' as a visual treat in the pageant of the flowering trees of Spring. Sturdy, insect resistant, well shaped, describes the magnolias. I would reserve the word 'stately' for another magnolia which we will cover in the third installment. Most of the magnolias in Mother's Garden were a gift from a nursery in Alabama and they ha