Vice President Kamala Harris
We were delighted to learn after last week’s historic inauguration ceremony that the 49th Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, is named after a beautiful flower.
Kamala means “lotus flower,” a plant holding deep meaning in Indian culture. In her memoir, she describes a lotus plant as growing underwater, with flowers that rise above the surface, with roots planted firmly in the river’s bottom.
We love working with lotus blossoms and visiting gardens where they grow. This photo was taken at a National Park in Washington, D.C. called the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens close to Kamala’s new office! We’ve taken all our kids there with their grandmother who is our guide since she is the local. The best time to visit is in the summer when all the flowers are blooming and the dragonflies are buzzing around. We even spotted turtles and frogs and lots of pretty birds.
In Thailand, Lotus are grown year round. They are not sold as cut flowers in the United States because the blooms do not last very long.
If you grow them yourself here in the United States you can enjoy them in the summer from July to September. If you want to learn how to plant them, check out this great supplier, PondLotus.com.
Cole and Keely run on a boardwalk in the gardens.
Kit & Casey’s Mom with Kit’s kids at Kenilworth Gardens
Pretty native Mallow in the garden in full bloom.
Lotus Leaves are really huge & beautiful.
The middle of a lotus flower looks like a shower head! When it matures it has seed pods in the middle that are harvested and eaten in some cultures.
Cole spotted a frog in the leaves!
Lots of water birds like the gardens too including this Blue Heron.
The kids loved their visit to the garden. If you visit Washington, D.C. in the summertime, check out this lovely National Park Service garden.
