Flowers are Birds Without Wings

Heliconia Bird

Meditation

Painting- Eucalyptus tree

I don’t draw or paint often. I haven’t meditated in a long time either. Last few days have been stressful. It has been so for many of us. I close my eyes and I cannot stop thinking. So I draw. I find it to be soothing. I find the peace of meditation when I paint. I have become a recluse in my own creative world. It might take a while for me to get out of it.

This is from memory. A trip to Ooty and standing at the top of the hill looking at the valley, a young eucalyptus tree in the vicinity.

Fireball Lily

FireBall Lily

I met this flower the year when I was a bride to be. My mother-in-law had bought this bulbous plant from Lalbagh and it decorated our front yard.

This lily blooms exclusively in May, hence the name May flower. It is also the monsoon season in India, and also called, monsoon flower. It looks like a football, hence football Lily. It is red and therefore called as blood Lily. It has a toxic alkaloid and called the poison Lily.

With so many names, the the ball Lily stays bloomed for three to four days. The flowers are produced at the top of a stem. The ball contains nearly a hundred flowers. Once the flower wilts, the plant remains until the next season arrives. Sometimes the plant wilts and a new plant appears during the blooming season and then the flower appears. Since it is bulbous, it can propagated by removing the bulbs and distributing them in different pots.

Soil requirement: Well drained soil

Water requirement: Once a week during off season. From spring to blooming season, whenever the soil has lost moisture. Sun requirement: Shade. Low maintenance plant.

Fireball Lily Bub. The stalk grows to nearly half a feet in height and then flowers

The stalk after all the flowers have withered.