Poinsettia - The Christmas Flower

Wow, Christmas is here again! My favourite time of the year and I believe it should be Christmas every day! Oh yeah...turkey...ham...stuffing...fruitcakes...Christmas trees...colourful ornaments...and PRESENTSSSSSSSSS!!!
The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes...(Frank Lloyd Wright)
Poinsettia...The Christmas Flower. Why? Because of its star-shaped flaming red leaves, it's also known as The Flower of the Holy Night? Hmm...still doesn't make sense to me.
Well...the Mexican legend tells the story of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. An angel encouraged her to gather weeds from the roadside and place them at the church altar where soon after, beautiful crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds. They then became known as "Flores de Noche Buena" in Mexico, which translates to Flowers of the Holy Night.

Poinsettia's history dates back to good ole 14th century and if you read everything about this beautiful shrub, it's most intriguing how it has become a favourite holiday flower and it even has its own special day in a year: December 12 is National Poinsettia Day in the U.S. What on earth do people do on that day???!!!


The poinsettia with its star shaped foliage pattern has been connected with the Star of Bethlehem shining at the birth of Jesus (Matthew 2:1-21). The poinsettia's blood red leaves symbolize the blood sacrificed for love of God. Scriptural events connected with the poinsettia include the deaths of the Holy Innocents, babies killed by King Herod madly in search of Jesus (Matthew 2:13-18) as well as the Jesus' death and crucifixion (all four gospels).

Christmas 2009...only one word comes to my mind right now at 12.05am...Peaceful :)
It has been a crazy week preparing for Christmas and finally now, I am sitting down with an iced cold rum & coke, sharing with you all my poinsettia pictures. A mysterious plant to me. It looks plastic! I love the fact that its leaves are red and not its flowers. Very misleading but extremely attractive. Although it's been associated a lot with the birth of Christ...I see it more of a "Christmasee" plant. A must-have plant to have in the house during Christmas, just cos it's bright red, haha!!! A plant that never fails to bring joy and smiles to people during this festive season.

Christmas happens everywhere every time someone reaches out to touch another life with love. (Carol Duerksen)

Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance--a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. (Augusta E. Rundel)

It is so true. Christmas is always a time for me to be still and remember all the good and bad times, and the good always outweigh the bad, haha!

A thought for you: What is Christmas to you? Have you touched another life with love???

Colours - Family of Daisies

I just feel like talking about colours and life today. Not about a particular flower but a fusion of beautiful daisies..different colours..different kind of fragrances..attracting all kinds of little "friends" was enough to make me put down my cup of coffee and grab my camera, haha!
Red...although a faded red...is still a very attractive flower. Lil grasshopper has no complaints! I love red...mmm a night of wine and passion.
True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. (William Penn)
Pink...the softer side of red...makes me feel sweet and nice. I especially love the baby pink colour...mmm romantic baby kissesssss!

It fascinated me to see all these little "friends" of nature...grasshoppers, bees, beetles...just resting on their respective choice of flower. It was a windy morning and it took me quite some time to get clear shots of the flowers & insect. I could not help but laugh each time the wind blows and the flowers started swaying...the poor grasshopper was hanging on to dear life!!!
Life...what is life all about? Be still for a minute and think about your life. I keep this saying embedded in my heart..."You only live once but if you work it right, once is enough." Of course during my younger days, I did not think this way. Oh you know...teenagers...we used to think that we would live forever, haha. Now, I see life in a different way. Realizing that life can be taken away from one at any time; no matter where or what you are. So we have to make TODAY count in order not to live with too many regrets in the future.

Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments, and to live each, is to succeed.

Ahhh White...my favourite colour. Many experts confirm that white symbolizes purity and virginity; I see white as a kind colour. I love it because I feel completely loved when someone gives me a white flower. A very true...honest...sweet kind of love.



Orange is a very happy colour to me. It reminds me of a beautiful sunset...a strong colour and yet, sweet enough to give you calmness.
When you have a rainbow deep down in your heart, your smile will shine bright...
Not a care in the world, right at that moment, only to witness God's creations...
Remembering all the little blessings in life, thinking: "I must have did something right!"...
To be alive and free...and hopefully to be someone's inspiration.

Star of Bethlehem

12 days to Christmas; I can't help but smile. My favourite time of the year. Loved white Christmases, which I had the priviledge of experiencing a few. Loved going beserk in the snow. Love hot chocolates. Love romantice fireplaces. Love is always in the air...
Star of Bethelehem makes me go "awww" all the time, especially during Christmastime. One can't help but to remember the story of the birth of Christ. Our hope for all...
These star-shaped flowers, native to Europe & the Middle East, not only symblizes hope but its essence is actually used to calm one who has experienced shock or trauma. It heals...soothes...one's heart and mind. Perfect, isn't it?
The star in the sky...illuminating all below...for its light is the sign that love will guide you home...
One of the stars of my life...
I met Dorothy in 1992 when I was a sophomore in college. My pastor came to me one day, about a week before Thanksgiving, and asked if I was interested to spend Thanksgiving with a lonely old lady who was in need of some company. Sure! With a couple of friends, we went to Dorothy's cosy little house. The minute I shook her hand and saw her beaming smile, I was hooked. I knew this friendship would be lasting one; and indeed it was. She was a fantastic cook. Yupp...I ate my first pumpkin pie at her place! I spent every Thanksgiving and Christmas at her place from then on. I remember during weekends, I would help her rake the leaves in her garden. Took her grocery shopping. We spent a lot of time together. The day I left Oklahoma was one of the saddest times of my life. I didn't allow her to go to the airport to see me off; I had spent an afternoon with her the day before. Had my share of goodbye kisses and buckets of tears! We promise to write to each other. And she kept her promise. She wrote every month without fail and I reciprocated. Gradually she wrote less and less as her eyes became weak but I kept on writing for I knew she had her grandson to read to her. The day came when I received an email from her grandson, informing me that Dorothy has passed away.

If tears could build a stairway and memories were a lane, I'd walk all the way to Heaven to bring you home again...

I was very grateful that I was informed. I couldn't go to the funeral but I got someone to attend on my behalf. Nevetheless, it didn't matter to me because I knew I had spent everlasting moments with Dorothy.

If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. (Unknown)

Astilbe - Feather Flower

What a drop-dead gorgeous red colour!

I am a feather for each wind that blows. (William Shakespeare)


This fiery red flower carries the meaning of..."I'll still be waiting".

It was a cold winter's night...
Awaiting for my love to arrive for a night of fine wine...
All dressed in shimmering red...
Minutes passed; candles losing hope...
The phone rings...
Tears falling down my cheeks...
With his goodbye, he has taken my heart with him...
But I will be forever waiting....

I love the carefree-ness of this flower. Love how it sways in the wind. Love the way it enjoys the sun so much. Love how it attracts people with its rich red colour. I think this flower is perfect for Christmas. Something unique and so amazing.


Your lips betray secrets to your soul....

The colour red always brings me back to a very fond memory; my first kiss under the mistletoe. There was a Madrigal dinner concert near to Christmas and I was excited. Medieval times fascinated me; always have and always will. Having a Renaissance feast and being entertained by "naughty" jesters...well...let's just, a dream came true for me.
The night came and I was dressed in red. My date and I met our friends at the banquet hall. We were sitted by the jesters and waited patiently for the rest of the dinner guests to arrive. The banquet hall was so richly decorated as if we were in an old castle. As I was admiring the ceiling draperies and coloured banners....I saw him...
He was my senior. A Political Science major; smart guy and very very handsome.
I put my hand on my friend's arm and she looked at where my eyes were staring. She chuckled and said loudly "Ohhh, our Joann has a new focus for this evening!" Haha...I didn't even remember what they served us for dinner...some wild rice and pudding I guessed. Although I enjoyed the music throughout the dinner, I glanced at him from time to time. Oh yeah....I was a hopeless case alright!! Guess my friends couldn't take it anymore and so without my knowledge, they had arranged something with the jesters. Right after dessert, a jester came over to my chair, took my hand and said, "Come on, we need you to do something for us." I thought to myself, "I am so dead". The jester walked me over to his table and my heart stopped. Holding my breath...the jester said to him, "We command you to kiss this young lady under the mistletoe!" I looked at the jester and almost burst out laughing; he was holding a mistletoe high above my head, hahaha! My guy was a gentleman. He stood up, smiled at me, said "Hi Joann, so nice to see you here tonight" and then said, "I better do as I am told; not looking forward to any punishment on this beautiful night". Held me close and....

'Twas not my lips you kissed...but my soul (Judy Garland)

Lantana Camara

Lantana...sounds Spanish, doesnt it? I like it cos it makes me feel like dancing...swaying to the rhythms of the wind.
In some places, this flower is known as Ham & Eggs. Haha...for the life of me...I do not see any resemblance to that scrumptious breakfast. I call it my little pillows of miracles :) Just take a look at the tiny "pillows" and imagine...how each of them blooms into a beautiful flower.

Plant a little love and watch a miracle grow. (Anonymous)

Lantana symbolizes rigor; hardship and toughness.

This is a flower truly to be admired. Don't judge the book by its cover...or rather don't judge the plant by its flower! This plant with tiny fragile-looking flowers is one tough thing in my garden. Very familiar to the hardships of the earth; low maintenance, heat-tolerant, and it doesn't even need fertilizer! This is what takes my breath away.....just look at every little bloom within each cluster of flowers. I see a different shade of colour in every one of them. Don't you?


Just a thought...
Every time you face hardships in your life, think of the lantana! Life will always be unfair.... so, what are you going to do about it?

Life's not always fair; sometimes you can get a splinter even sliding down a rainbow. (Cherralea Morgen)



I can't help but think about how lantanas actually resembles the severity of life. Life can be smooth-sailing at times, yet it can be harsh as well. Its especially when we have no power to prevent bad things from happening...like accidents. What we could only do is cope.

When I was young, about 8-9 years of age, I used to play with mum's cousin's kids (2 brothers). We had a huge swing on our front porch, and the boys and I used to climb on it and pretend that it was a bus. I would be the conductor and they would be the passengers as they loved hopping on and off while the "bus" was moving!! We would never get tired of playing with that swing and there were always laughter. The boys were good at telling jokes and I used to enjoy just listening to them. One day, mum had a phone call and I watched her expression turned grim in the midst of listening. Later on, she told me that the younger brother had drown. He was only 10 years old at that time. I didn't quite get it that he is gone forever and that he was never going to come over to our house to play with me ever again. Took me a while to finally comprehend that I had lost a friend. I had no power to change what had happened. I had lost a friend for life. About a week ago, mum and I were looking through some old photos and she saw a picture of me and the 2 boys at our swing. Mum asked, "Hey do you still remember them?" I took a look at the picture and immediately, all the memories came rushing back to me. The laughter. The silly games we played. After 30 years had passed, tears actually came to my eyes....

We do not remember days; we remember moments. (Cesare Pavese)

Rose - The Flower of Love II

I am all smiles whenever I see a rosebud taking its own sweet time growing into a full-blown rose. Even though I am not a particular fan of red roses, a rosebud (whatever colour) will always stop my tracks and get my attention. How can you not notice it? So young. So beautiful. It seemed so full of hopes and dreams and sweet love....
Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring. (Oscar Wilde)

What do we do without love in our lives? I don't think I will be able to survive the loneliness. No loving arms to hold me. No kisses awaiting me. Heart slowly dying...

(Laughing)...I remember a guy in college, a very sweet guy whom I dated for a short period of time. We met while I was working at the cafetaria. He would come in every day, patiently waiting for me to serve him. My usual "Hi, how are you doing?" always made him smile. I had to clear the tables after my serving duties and we always ended up chatting for a while. Pretty soon, he would turn up miraculously....just when I was about to walk home! He was such a gentleman and a very pleasant person to be with. Come Valentine's Day and I was expecting roses from him, haha...roses were selling like hot cakes around campus! I wasn't working on that day but I had a call from my boss asking me to see him at the cafetaria. So after class, I walked to the cafetaria and waved at my boss....he signaled me to wait for him at one of the tables outside the cafetaria. I nodded and sat down. Was feeling quite anxious as I had no clue what he was up to. I thought I was going to be fired. 15 mins later it felt like I was sitting on eggshells....arrgghhhh I hated to wait. So I took out a book to read, trying to remain calm. Before I could start reading, a stranger (guy) came up to me, dressed in a tux. He stood at the end of my table and started singing aloud!!! Every one turned around and stared. I was gawking!!! What in the world.....? Gosh, I don't even remember what was the song he sang; I think it was a love song. I was too dumbfounded to pay attention. I saw my boss and my fellow cafetaria workers laughing behind the counter and in my heart, I thought they had played a trick on me. As this stranger sang, my head was working out a plan for revenge! When he finished singing, he came over and said softly, "Sorry, your boyfriend paid me to sing for you. Hope you liked the song"... and he left. I covered my face with my palms and then I heard a cheery "Hi". The rest...as they say...was history :)

Sweet sweet love...

In the end it is doesn't matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away. (Anonymous)

Hydrangea

Natives to exotic Eastern Asia, these bigleaf hydrangeas are pretty fussy flowers to me. In my garden, they live in a partially shaded corner where they only get to enjoy the morning sun (or else they will play dead all day!) and are forever in need of water. A friend once asked me, "How in the world do you grow pink hydrangeas?" Easy peasy lime juice!!!

Forever pink...mmm...brings me back to my childhood days. Always brings a smile on my face. Childhood was fun, happy and I was always hungry! I remember always looking forward to the weekends cos that's when dad would take us out and that meant, I get to have ice-creams and burgers...YUM! Loved strawberry ice-cream to death back then. Burgers....ok...ok...I still love them to death now!

Hydrangea symbolizes heartfelt emotions. An expression of gratitude for being understood.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. (Marcel Proust)
Memories...
Friends who have touched my life so deeply. Who liberated me into life. Some of them have gone now and I miss them dearly. At times, I just wanna pick them up from my dreams and hug them. Does it really take a lifetime to forget someone? Don't believe so. If that someone meant so much to me....never will I want to forget.

The heart that truly loves never forgets....

Footprints in my heart...

Our meeting was more than fate. You were God-sent; the perfect mate for my soul. We share a bond so strong. Time spent together meant a great deal, I am sure, to both of us. Each moment intensifies the need to touch, for your love has reached the core of my soul. Forever to each other...there will be love, need and passion...