A poetic expression on flowers

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.

-SHAKESPEARE
(A Midsummer-Night’s Dream, II, 1)

Friendship like a garden of flowers...

Friendship is like a garden
of flowers, fine and rare,

It cannot reach perfection
except through loving care;

Then new and lovely blossoms
with each new day appear…

For friendship, like a garden,
grows in beauty year by year.

- Anon

Scientific description of flowers

Scientifically speaking, a flower is nothing but a bunch of spore-bearing leaves surrounded by whorl of protective and attractive leaves.

Close encounters of flower and insect kingdoms!

More than 130 million years ago, the ‘co-evolution’ process triggered encounters between flowering plants and insects benefiting both. Flowers evolved into attractive shapes and petals with stunning colours… as a center of attraction. Petals also served as a convenient place of landing for insects like bees, wasps to enjoy nutritious nectar offered to them. Insects have adjusted their mouth parts and other organs to accommodate the offers given by plants. Those guests acted as pollinators, helped evolution and spread of flowering plants. Amazing co-existence through evolution!

Amazing Water Lily

Water lily is considered as one of the ancient flowering species on Earth. At the time of origin, water lilies were one among first two branches on the family tree of flowering plants. Their origins go back over 140 million years, while dinosaurs were still living on the Earth. Thus, water lilies became living fossils linking ages of extinct dinosaurs with modern age of human beings.

Violet glory

Photogenic hibiscus

The spark that ignited that ‘explosion’ was the petal. Petals created much more diversity. This is now a widely accepted notion.… -Friis

Bird of Paradise

If all Earth's history were compressed into an hour, flowering plants would exist for only the last 90 seconds. But once they took firm root about 100 million years ago, they swiftly diversified in an explosion of varieties that established most of the flowering plant families of the modern world. - Michael Klesius

Flowers for Human Race

"If it weren't for flowering plants, we humans wouldn't be here."

- Walter Judd, Botanist, University of Florida

Flowering Philately

Philately is one of the most delightful hobbies giving immense value and pleasure to admirers of postage stamps. Theme based collection of stamps narrate interesting stories of the subject chosen for study. The collection also improves understanding and in-depth knowledge on the subject of study. Good research being done around the World on various stamp collections and meaningful conclusions drawn based on subject, history and antique value.

The first theme I have chosen in my collection is ‘flowers’, as a mark of aesthetic sense in our lives. Presenting flowers is one of the universal forms of expressing greetings and show our affection. Flowers in philately might draw ones attention and show how various nations acknowledge their love for flowers and spread the message across continents through stamps. Orchids for instance are rare to find and expensive but they are reaching millions through postal stamps. In this e-mail era, use of postal stamps has considerably reduced hence philately gains historical importance over time. Thanks to internet communication that it is allowing to exhibit our collections and improve our understanding on the subject at length.

There are number of philatelic societies operating around the World. Few philatelists have exclusive collections with themes like flowers, animals, events, monuments, persons and so on. Literature is also available on philately. Some enthusiastic collectors organize exhibitions too. Changing perception on philately is a matter of study for academicians.

Those who have not started philately yet, it is not too late to start collection. Postal system is fully operative in many parts of the world. The art of presentation also gains importance besides simple collection. One can create their own personal museum with minimum costs. Few might take up philately as a profession too.

Grandmother’s communication technique in a new land

Imagine you are in a new place where language, cultures and people are different. How to deal with that situation? Here is my grandmother’s way of S-S communication!


Nearly 21 years passed when I got my first employment in a public research and development institution, stationed in the foothills of Himalayas called Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, India. Palampur is 2000 kilometers away from my native place and situated in cold region at 2000 meters above mean sea level. I was hesitant to go there from south but my grandmother (nearly 65 years at that time) stood up my side and came forward to accompany me.


The place, climate, culture, traditions, language and people were all new. Nothing bothered her at all. She managed to communicate with this new group in a new environment with her own S-S communication technique and soon became favorite grandmother for all.


The communication technique she adopted was “Smile and Sign”; I named it “S-S communication”. It is quite simple. In a friendly gesture, she used to affectionately smile at the new person and instantly communicate with him/her in self-styled signs and intermittent laughs. Though she had no formal higher education, soon she became popular among youngsters, children and even intellectuals of the society. Education and generation gaps did not bother her much. Her next step was to help people with her extraordinary skill of preparing tasty south Indian foods and share among her friends. Among those, egg omelet was famous. Often, our family and friends used to mention that grandmother must patent her formulation. Her caring skills were outstanding.


Time passed, we left the place. Recently when I visited the place after long years, every one enquired about my grandmother. They were sad knowing that my grandmother is no more. But she is alive in every ones heart through her S-S communication and caring skills. She was successful in establishing ‘bondage’ with new people through S-S communication and caring skills.


When I visited Germany, China, Ecuador where languages and cultures are new to me, I tried my grandmother’s S-S communication technique. It worked very well. Don’t hesitate trying this when you are in a new place. It is lot more enjoyment too! No wonder, if this technique works well when you encounter an alien!


Link

Know about flowering plants

Nearly 80 percent of green plants flower.

Official estimates indicate existence of 250,000 to 400,000 flowering plants on earth.

Evidences shown that flowering plants existed 130,000,000 years ago.

Agriculture almost depends on flowering plants.

Grass, legume and night shade families among major flowering families feed the world.

Link

Wild Yellow Ray

Flowering plants were categorized into over 46o families

Lovely Twins

Origin of flowering plants was described as “abominable mystery” by
Charles Darwin