GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT
Floral Beauty Around the World— The Finale
It was about blooming deserts, tulip fields and the feeling of happiness
I can't find words to describe what you have shown us. Fields of wildflowers, a superbloom, hibiscus in my hair and crocus flowers above the snow line in the Himalayas.
While I was certainly excited about presenting this monthly challenge, I had never imagined the variety of floral prompt responses you would be submitting.
You didn't just top it all with the highest number of prompt submissions since we started this tradition (35 in total), you also provided us with a load of high-quality travel essays. I'd hate to say this but it made our work very difficult.
To pick a favorite.
We tried anyway...
Michele Maize
As a nature and flower lover, the prompt for April was easy to write. Although, recently within the last few years, I’ve been more aware of my surroundings and willing to stop at places along the way to photograph the beauty of our earth. Seeing all of the beautiful photos that our writers took for this month's prompt turned some of my days around when I didn’t have time to head outside.
It’s also an exciting time to live in California when there is a superbloom and the prompt gave me a reason to make a drive out to view the beautiful sites that the rain gave us.
It was really hard to choose a few favorites because all of your stories were interesting, beautiful, informative, and full of your own personal, stunning photos.
Erika Burkhalter stole the show for me with her story. As a fellow yogi, I was so impressed with her poses amongst nature. I was also unaware of saffron’s origination so it was also an informative story, that is also full of stunning photos.
Janin Lyndovsky reminded me that I don’t need to go far to travel. Traveling can be an hour from my home. We also don’t have to take the perfect picture because nothing is perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed her take on the prompt. I also love how she relates the beauty we have within ourselves to her pretty flower photos.
If you know Dr. Preeti Singh, you will know that she loves nature and flowers. So, this made me happy when I saw that she submitted a story for the challenge. If you are passionate about something, as Preeti is with flowers, the passion will shine through writing. On her way to a wedding, she was blessed to see many unique and gorgeous flowers along the way.
Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages
As I do each month while choosing my favorite monthly challenge submissions, I scrolled the list and made sure that I have thoroughly read every article. This time, with so many submissions, and such a great variety of stories, I found myself mesmerized by the fact that each article is very different from the next.
Our world is so vast and diverse, and there are so many varieties of flowers. In fact, while writing my flower article, I did some research and learned that there are over 400 000 blooms in the world! Certainly, there are enough for us all to have unique experiences with them.
I loved reading each person's spin on the prompt, their experiences with the flowers, and of course, the pictures are incredible.
I was thrilled to read Osan Fernando’s article letting us know that she made it to Japan. Earlier this year she made it clear that getting to Japan was a priority in 2023. Seeing her bring that dream to reality was so lovely, and I loved her documentation of the cherry blossoms in bloom. Her photos brought back great memories of the blossoms that we saw each year while living on the West Coast of Canada.
When we travel, we blossom like flowers because we feel that life loves us and we love life. When we blossomed, hope overflows as if telling us to hang in there when the world is too much to handle. And we wither when life is spent running in circles.
I loved Jewel Allen’s story about wearing a hibiscus in her hair. I have often done this myself and I always feel more alive and exuberant when I do.
I wanted to tell her that whenever I see women wear flowers in their hair, I never think they are silly; I think they are brave and are having more fun than the rest of us. That I thought about doing it all the time, but I had never worked up the courage to do it.
A story I had missed reading earlier this month is by Marianne O. It was the last story that I read before I was set to write this post, and I clearly saved my favorite for last. I really appreciated her take on the prompt challenge as she decided to highlight the national flower of Hong Kong, the Bauhinia Blakeana.
Thank you, Marianne, I truly appreciated learning about this beautiful flower and its significance to Hong Kong.
I shall remember the lesson of the little Bauhinia Blakeana, which bloomed in the winter and survived against all odds and got picked, loved, and propagated.
It stands for the agility, openness (a mixture of East and West), and vibrancy of Hong Kong. It does not matter which rule it is under. The Hong Kong people find a way to thrive.
Most months I narrow down my favorites into a private list then I re-read and re-check them as I write this wrap-up. This month there were 12 to choose from! If you are interested in seeing which other articles made the list, please click here:)
Thank you to all of you who submitted your responses to our challenge! Your stories are always a delight to read:)
Adrienne Beaumont
Always travelling in the Northern Hemisphere’s Autumn and Winter, I rarely get to see many of the flowers all of you Globetrotters know so well and photograph brilliantly. I do love orchids and lotus flowers so if you have those in your story I loved it, Tim Ward, Brad Yonaka, Rhonda Carrier, Fiona Y., and Erie Astin, or if you wrote about spring in Europe it was special because I’ve never witnessed it, Barb Dalton, Ophélie Quillier, Claire Elizabeth Levesque, Serhii Onkov, and Krasi Shapkarova. I also loved reading stories that featured flowers I recognised.
“A Hibiscus In My Hair” Jewel Allen, “The Beauty Of Nature With Smiling Spring Flowers” Dr. Preeti Singh, “Spring Flowers, Aussie Style” Barb Dalton, “Floral Beauty — It Doesn’t Need To Be Majestic To Be Beautiful” Janin Lyndovsky, “The Unusual Flora of Kula Botanical Gardens — Maui” Carol Labuzzetta.
I also loved reading about flowers from places I’d experienced — “Meeting Cherry Blossoms In Central Japan” Osan Fernando, “Travel through Flowers, Cultures and History” Kim Baker, and “The Floral Enchantment of the Alhambra” Keith Kelley.
But my pick of the month is Kerri Duncan’s story on how to make my travel photos more interesting. I’m going to try it and let you know the results.
I loved reading everyone’s stories this afternoon — a binge read indeed — but I learned something from every single one of them, so thank you to everyone who submitted flower stories for this challenge. I’m definitely going to try to see some botanical gardens! I’ve earmarked Monet’s Gardens in Giverny. Always wanted to see them for myself but am always too late in the season.
JoAnn Ryan
We had a record number of stories this month, but it doesn’t really surprise me. Flower stories are popular. Who doesn’t love a beautiful bunch of roses, crocus or bougainvillea? They are fun to write and fun to read.
With so many stories this month, it just makes it even more difficult to pick out favorites. I always enjoy reading all of the challenge submissions, as people often put so much of their heart into each story. I enjoyed reading about cherry blossoms, bluebells, hibiscus, orchids, botanical gardens, spring flowers and superblooms.
However, as long as my arm is being twisted here (ha, ha) I do have to highlight a few that I particularly enjoyed.
Erika Burkhalter’s beautiful story of traveling, yoga, crocus and saffron was amazing:
The amazing photos from Longwood Gardens by Erie Astin really astounded me as well:
I also loved this story by Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur about the majestic white lotus:
My overall favorite though was this story of tulips, poppies, lotus, hydrangeas and interesting travel tidbits from Kim Baker:
A huge thank you to everyone for all the great flower photo travel stories! See you next month!
Anne Bonfert
While I enjoyed all of these floral submissions and could have been sitting at my desk judging who created the best picture, who placed the flower in the perfect light and who traveled to the most remote and untouched place in nature, I opted to go a different way.
The stories that stayed in my mind. Those that made me rethink my choices and thoughts. The kind of articles that get into your mindset. Those are the ones I love the most. If the picture is blurry or not. If the flower is over the top bright or if the image is outstanding or not doesn’t matter.
In a world where our society is showing a fake perfection in everything the media share, I’d much rather read about those not-perfect but authentic adventures that changed someone’s life, made someone happy and smile or brought people back together.
Life isn’t about being perfect. Or about taking the best shot of the biggest superbloom in a desert this year. It isn’t about posing in front of Instagram-worthy landscapes and then crying back home about the few likes your picture got.
Life is about being in the moment. About taking a breath in nature, listening to the sound of the rainforest and smelling the flowers in your immediate surroundings. If while abroad or at home doesn’t matter.
Just be there. And smile.
She was walking across the fields thinking about what travel meant and what kind of travel photos of the past she could share when Janin almost stepped onto blooming beauties right beneath her feet.
“This made me realize how often, in life, we pursue perfection. We are so brainwashed through media and marketing campaigns that whatever we do, we seek “non-existing perfection”, thinking that otherwise, we won’t fit in; we won’t be good enough. We overthink the simplest situation, afraid that maybe, for whatever reason, we don’t deserve to be noticed, included, or happy.” — Janin Lyndovsky
I love how she took this writing prompt as a challenge to go out and contemplate life and all of a sudden found beauty wherever she stepped. Please read this piece and learn from her enlightenment.
When sending out this prompt I was certain we’d get at least a few submissions of cherry blossoms in Japan but I didn’t know what was actually behind the meaning of them.
Hanami is a Japanese springtime tradition and is about celebrating life beneath the blossoms of the cherry trees as Vincent explains.
“Hanami means picnicking with friends, family and loved ones beneath the plumes of pink and white blooming trees which resemble the clouds caught in the glow of the setting sun.” — Vincent Van Patten
Jewel Allen took a totally different approach to the writing challenge as she is talking about the tropical feeling that faded away as she stepped onto the plane leaving Puerto Rico and the hibiscus flower behind.
Fast forward a few years later, she found a similar accessory and wanted to wear it to church but was scared about what others would think. Why do we always care about the opinions of others? I know, because our society is so judgy and mean.
But Jewel stuck with her choice and received compliments for the tropical flower. But most importantly, the flower made her feel beautiful and strong.
Once again, we thank each and every writer who has contributed to this writing prompt. The stories were all interesting and inspiring. I loved getting taken around the world from blooming tulip fields, over bluebells up to desert flowers.
If you missed the deadline and still want to share a travel story showcasing flowers you found on your travels, you can do so. The article will just not be part of the challenge. We are always open to travel posts.
I also encourage you to stay tuned for our next writing prompt for the month of May. We will announce it here on Globetrotters on the 1st.
The team of editors also has contributed to the challenge with the following articles. These posts never join the contest.
JoAnn Ryan with “Flower Power: The Floral Beauty of Trinidad & Tobago, Part One”
Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages with “The World Has a Neverending Variety Of Flowers”
Michele Maize with “Mother Nature Is Rejoicing From the Rain and Showing Off all of Her Colors”
Adrienne Beaumont with “Flowers of Le Jardin Majorelle”
Anne Bonfert with “Floral Beauty in the Desert”, “Floral Beauty Around the World” and “When Colorful Blossoms are Decorating the Mediterranean Coastline”
And now, please give credits to all participating writers and do give a read to these awesome submissions if you haven’t checked them out yet:
Michael Rhodes with “The Beautiful Flower Fields of Carlsbad, California”
Rhonda Carrier with “Singapore Botanic Garden — A Key Component of the Garden City”
Krasi Shapkarova with “A Visit to the Garden of Europe”
Osan Fernando with “Meeting Cherry Blossoms In Central Japan”
Claire Elizabeth Levesque with “England’s Bluebells Really Do Live Up To Their Reputation”
Marianne O with “How Bauhinia Blakeana Arose from Roadside Ornaments to Hong Kong’s National Flower and Flag”
Tim Ward with “White Lotus”
Keith Kelley with “The Floral Enchantment of the Alhambra”
Jewel Allen with “A Hibiscus In My Hair”
Fiona Y. with “How to Enjoy a Day in This Surprising Central PA Oasis”
Carol Labuzzetta with “The Unusual Flora of Kula Botanical Gardens — Maui”
Ophélie Quillier with “The Thing I’ll Miss the Most About the UK is Spring Flowers”
Dr. Preeti Singh with “The Beauty Of Nature With Smiling Spring Flowers”
Brad Yonaka with “Orchids in Borneo”
Kim Baker with “Travel through Flowers, Cultures and History”
Serhii Onkov with “Flowers of the Plague Spring”
Jane Trombley with “Springtime in London: A Special City Becomes Even More Delightful”
Jerry Dwyer with “Searching in Central California for Sensational Spring Superblooms”
Kerri Duncan with “Foreground Flowers: An Easy Way to Elevate Travel Photos”
Erika Burkhalter with “Wild Saffron Above the Snow Line in Kashmir, India”
Belcairn with “A Daisy Chain Of Beautiful Places”
Ilona Goanos with “Peace, Love, and Flower Power in Costa Rica’s Cloud and Rainforest”
Barb Dalton with “Spring Flowers, Aussie Style” and “A Taste of an English Spring”
Nilla Chen with “Seeing Snow in Midsummer — Tung Flower in a Secret Spot”
Erie Astin with “When Blooms Bring Nostalgia, Not Rebirth”
Janin Lyndovsky with “Floral Beauty — It Doesn’t Need To Be Majestic To Be Beautiful”
Ophélie Quillier with “Spring Flowers Can Be Found in the Unlikeliest of Places”
Your Globetrotters editing team (JoAnn, Adrienne, Jillian, Michele & Anne)
