Often, we see beautiful sky splashed with wonderful hues of colors. This is due to atmospheric phenomena like light sprinkling making it blue, pink, greenish, purple at sunrise and sunset. Clouds create diverse picture like patterns; celestial events like starry nights or auroras (natural lights display in sky) providing endless variations from deep blues and fiery sunsets to dramatic cloudscapes artistic depiction of clouds, often focusing on their shapes, textures, and dramatic formations, all enhancing our world’s visual appeal. When I see wonders in the sky, I thank God for the beauty He creates.

The sunrises and sunsets times of day often produce the most dramatic and colourful skies, with colors shifting from deep purple to vibrant orange, pink, and red as light passes through more of the atmosphere. On starry nights far from city light pollution, the night sky can be filled with countless twinkling stars and constellations, offering a breath-taking view of the galaxy that is rarely seen in urban areas.

Cloud formations create the interaction of light and clouds creating diverse aesthetic effects. Fluffy cumulus clouds add texture to a bright blue sky.

Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon where the mind notices familiar patterns, like faces or animals, in random or vague visual stimuli, such as clouds, wood grain, or even space images, fundamentally “seeing” is meaning where there isn’t any. It’s a common human tendency rooted in our brain to find patterns and meaning, often involving seeing faces in non-face objects, and it can be a helpful survival instinct but also leads to seeing celestial bodies having features.

The key aspects of Pareidolia are: facial recognition because humans are hardwired to detect faces quickly, so our brains over-activate facial recognition areas for ambiguous patterns.  A broader term for perceiving connections in unrelated data; pareidolia is a visual type of this feeling.

In short, seeing beautiful images in clouds is a common psychological phenomenon called pareidolia. Our brain finds familiar patterns such as faces, animals, objects in random, vague visual data like clouds, rocks, or textures; it’s a natural way our minds create meaning from shapeless forms, often leading to spiritual or personal interpretations, and it’s a source of wonder and artistic inspiration. Our brain actively tries to make sense of the cloud’s form, imposing a familiar shape onto it, like seeing a dragon, a face, or a ship.

Pareidolia  is a subjective experience. What one person sees can be completely different from another’s perception, making cloud-gazing a personal and creative experience. Many people interpret cloud figures as divine signs, like angels or figures from religious texts. Clouds symbolize our feelings, with dramatic formations reflecting moods or offering a sense of peace or awe. Photographers and artists find inspiration in these fleeting natural formations, capturing their beauty and unique shapes.

“Doctor’s hand” is a nickname used by some astronomers for a cosmic object formally known as the “Hand of God”. This hand-shaped nebula is powered by the leftover, dense core of a star that exploded in a supernova explosion.

In conclusion, it is our brain being creative with cloud shapes, a delightful form of visual storytelling in the sky.

Hydroculture is a form of inert hydroponics (plant roots grown in water) and it can be grown without soil. Indoor plants can be grown with the medium of clay pebbles instead of soil. It is a lot more trouble free way of growing attractive indoor plants.

The indoor greenery always gives a good feeling; it enhances the look of a house or office. Common indoor plants are good to fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. NASA scientists are researching on the topic further more. They are useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside homes, hotels, offices, restaurants, hospitals etc.

If you observe closely, you will find that buildings which have good amount of plants planted inside them have a healthy ventilation systems constantly invigorating them with air from outdoors after a filtration process that removes some large particles, such as pollen, from it. Once inside, this air is augmented by a large range of indoor plants. Some well-placed greenery brightens the space and also purifies the air. The plants are also helpful in creating a more relaxing, restful ambiance in the building.  It reduces stress and tensions to great extent. In a 2008 study, Dutch researchers found that hospital patients with indoor plants in their rooms recovered faster from their illnesses and reported lower stress levels than patients without them.

Indoor plants add positivity besides great looking décor. There are some beautiful houseplants that are easy to take care of and effective at increasing oxygen and clearing out toxins for cleaner breathing air, some of these are approved by NASA. Try adding one to your each room at home and your work station in office.

Hydroculture system is simpler to use because it is made up of five simple parts: clay pebbles (or a similar inert growing medium), planters, hydroculture pots, water level indicator, and plants.

Clay pebbles: They are the primary growing medium used in hydroculture systems. These expanded clay pellets take the place of soil. They are highly absorbent and are effective at retaining moisture and nutrients. They are free from soil-borne pests and diseases and they provide plenty of oxygenation at the root zone. Because of their inert nature, they give the plants a sturdy support; hence, the plants grow faster and blossom. There is another medium besides clay pebbles such as perlite, which is a form of a volcanic glass that is mined and then heated in big ovens until it ‘pops’ into a round, white material that’s used in seed-starting and potting mixtures to lighten the soil. Even perlite allows more air around the roots of plants.

Planters:  They are more or less identical to any other plant pot available in market. They are made out of expensive and unbreakable plastic. You get them various shapes, size and colours and designes.

Hydroculture pot: They are snugly fitted inside the planters; the hydroculture pot comes with a groove for a water level indicator which will show you exactly how much water your plants are sitting in. The hydroculture pot contains clay pebbles and the plant.

Water level indicator: Water level indicators are a simple way to measure exactly how much water your plants are sitting in. They are tailored for use with specific hydroculture pots and usually come with indicators showing the ‘minimum’, ‘maximum’, and ‘optimum’ water levels. Water level indicators show when to feed your plant. The average watering cycle for a 6” plant is probably every 2 weeks in soil. With hydroculture, the length of time between watering gets normally tripled. This can be especially helpful for people that cannot access their plants every two weeks, those who travel often.

Plants: Peace Lily (spatifilum), Dracena, Umbrella, Nasa, Xanadu, Snake plant (mother in law’s tongue) Money plant, Spider plant, Anthurium, African Violets, Cast Iron Plant, Areca Palm, Bamboo palm  etc are some of the decorative indoor plants good for hydroculture. These are decorative indoor plants which add beauty to the decor.

Overall, growing using the hydroculture method can be both a refreshing change from soil gardening and a rewarding experience when you start growing bigger, better plants. They last for longer duration; some plants live for ten years or so. This is because the roots are healthier and more robust. Healthy root systems support longer-lasting plants.

Pushpam:

In Mumbai, Milind and Yashoda Mokashi of Pushpam Landscape offer hydroculture plants and maintenance services.  Established in 1986, Pushpam is an umbrella organization for landscape-related services. The organization is famous for its qualified and experienced personnel who are committed in providing the highest quality service to their clients. Mr & Mrs Mokashi are ardent plant lovers; their hobby is growing indoor ornamental and outdoor plants. They keep travelling to various countries researching about latest botanical techniques.  Hydroculture is the latest arm added to Pushpam’s large array of botanical services. Please visit their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pushpamflowers/