Are not all flowers sacred? Is not everything natural sacred, gifts to be treasured (including you and I)? Common names for plants are interesting in origins. Nelumbo nucifera is also known as Sacred Lotus, Bean of India and Indian Lotus. Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi said, “I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained”. It is a sight of beauty rising from murky still water.”  This image was taken at Chicago Botanic Garden’s Aquatic Garden. It shows the end of a cycle for one bloom with petals already fallen and the tight bud of a yet to be bloom.