The facade of Menlo Park’s fire station is graced by a magnificent tulip magnolia tree. Every January it blossoms gloriously, an explosive visual siren in brilliant magenta, announcing California’s early spring. The preternaturally large tree faces the southern sun, its blossoms promise a glorious spring in the coming months.
Outside observers may see delicate pink blossoms. But peer deeper to the inside of the flower, we discover the powerful stamens, gilded like tongues of fire. I remember a fellow environmental educator once told me, “All flowers are sex organs, and all fruits are pregnant flowers.” Many of Georgia O’Keeffe’s floral paintings delve into this macroscopic perspective.
I wanted to focus this piece on the hidden stamens within the blossom, to convey the glory and power of the Divine Feminine that we may discover in the web of life that surrounds us.
