The Most Beautiful Flowers on Earth: A Spiritual Experience

Source: Peony, InAweofGodsCreation, CC 2.0

A flower is among the most beautiful things on earth. And unlike, for example, the Taj Mahal or a secluded Kauai beach, it's easily accessible to all of us..

I invite you to spend 60 seconds staring at the most beautiful flower that you can easily get to see: Perhaps it's in the gift shop in your office building, or down the block at a neighbor who likes to garden. Or buy one flower that calls to you in the flower shop or stand, or supermarket. (If you buy more than one, its preciousness somehow is diminished.) Or simply stare at the pictures of them below. (Note: After the first two, there are long spaces between the photos that I can't figure out how to get rid of. Just scroll down and you'll see them.)

Here are my votes for the half-dozen most beautiful flowers that are widely available.

Credit must be given where due. These flowers, like most, do not naturally occur in nature. They are the result of decades of painstaking work by hybridizers.

1, Hybrid tea rose--Buy it in a tight bud. Over the next few days, you'll see its remarkable metamorphosis.

2. Cattleya orchid

3. Bird of Paradise

4. Peony

5. Fuchsia

6. Gerbera​

Source: Hybrid Tea Rose, Ryan Somma, Flickr, CC 2.0

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Source: Carol Schaffer, Flickr, CC 2.0

Source: Frank Kovalchek, CC 2.0

Source: InAweofGodsCreation, CC 2.0

Source: Pixabay, Public Domain

Source: Ilaria, CC 2.0