First thing early this morning I went outside with my camera to try and capture a little bit of the morning light. I literally gasped when I spotted these little Morning Glory flowers growing on our neighbor's fence. We’ve lived here many years and I’ve never seen a Morning Glory vine anywhere in the area. I guess it is gift from nature.
According to a Google search, wild Morning Glories have been traced back to ancient China. The Japanese first cultivated the flower for ornamental use in the 9th century. According to the Victorians, Morning Glory flowers signify love, affection, or mortality. They also represent the month of September and 11th wedding anniversaries.
The tubular star-shaped flower unravels into a full bloom early in the morning and dies by afternoon or nightfall, making it representative of the sometimes fleeting nature of affection. But new flowers produced each day represents the renewable nature of love. Even their heart-shaped leaves are a symbol of love.
In Chinese folklore, they represent a single day for lovers to meet. The star-shaped Morning Glory is symbolic of a single day each year in which the Chinese lovers, Chien Niu and Chih Neu, are allowed to meet. According to Chinese lore, Chien Niu was a boy star who was entrusted to take care of water buffalo in the heavenly kingdom. A girl star named Chih Neu was put in charge of seamstress duties. They fell in love, and the romance caused them to neglect their duties. In anger, God forced the young lovers to be separated on both sides of the Silver River and allowed then to meet only once during the whole year.
Next year, I think I'll plant some Morning Glory seeds in this very spot to bring me a little September joy!
Happy September to you!
These are beautiful! Morning light enhances everything {except maybe me}, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know all of this about the morning glory, I guess I just took advantage of it. I remember it as a child and always loved it. Beautiful captures in the morning light Cathy.
ReplyDeleteI think this is some of your best work. Learned a lot about the little flower, but most of all I saw God's wonderful beauty in nature. The little morning glory seems to be plugged into a light source. It is, God's light source. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love Morning Glories and have often planted them on my balcony. They grow and grow and you need plenty of climbing space for them to develop. Beautiful captures of this stunning blue flower.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, Cathy! I have never seen them before and had no idea of the story and history of them. They sounds like the floral equivalent to the mayfly, which is dear to my fishing heart. Beautiful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful, inspiring photography! The morning glory just glows in the middle!
ReplyDeleteSuch amazing light - each bloom looks as if it has a tiny golden light trapped inside, shining forth. You always share such interesting facts.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful blue!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful collection of images--thanks too for taking the time to post so much information about the flowers.
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