Category: “Gulae’s Garden”

We are so happy to share two new additions to Guale’s Garden!

The first tree is courtesy of Dr. Ayesha Najib. She planted a beautiful Mesquite tree in Scottsdale, Arizona. These trees produce beans and blooms that attract wildlife and they also provide perches and nesting sites for birds!

Our second addition to Gulae’s Garden is from Dr. Shaheen Chowdhry. She planted a tree in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“This is a wonderful pomegranate tree and is one of the best of its kind! It is known for its lush green leaves , big Red Fruit, and juicy red seeds. When my Tree grows and bears Red fruits annually it will remind me more of Sophia. I love working in my garden almost daily, I think of Sophia a lot 💕”

In addition, we are happy to share a heartwarming update regarding our tree in Danville, California courtesy of Farah Rana and her family.

“MashaAllah Gulae’s tree has grown. I hung a bird feeder in it and there is water fountain close to it. Very beautiful small birds come all day there. I hope InshaAllah it’s a sadaqah, shading, feeding, and giving water to these little creatures.”

 

Special thanks to Dr. Ayesha Najib and Ramona Copelli who planted a tree in a beautiful garden in Pucón, Chile. She planted a Boldo tree (left). The picture on the right shows what the Boldo tree will look like in the future! Special thanks to Dr. Ayesha Najib and Ramona Copelli who planted a tree in a beautiful garden in Pucón, Chile. She planted a Boldo tree (left). The picture on the right shows what the Boldo tree will look like in the future!

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“This tree is going extinct in Chile. It is a medicinal tree with its leaves used for digestive purposes. It sits on the border of our yard in southern Chile and will always be tied to Sophia’s honor.” – Ramona

Below is a photo of where the tree has been planted as well as a video of part of Ramona’s fairytale garden. We are so honored that this project and Sophia’s memory will always have a place in South America!

On June 18th, 2019 we planted a Prunus Kanzan (Cherry Tree) in Dollar, United Kingdom. This was a huge honor as we were able to plant the tree the day before the official opening of the garden! The staff was kind enough to show us around this stunning display of Japanese culture and we hope you all can visit it someday too!

“The Japanese Garden at Cowden became the first and only garden of its size and scale to be designed by a woman. It remains a unique and utterly authentic bridge between Scottish and Japanese culture”

If you would like to read more about the garden please visit this website: http://www.cowdengarden.com

Please enjoy the video below of the planting. Special thanks to Nomi Khala for helping arrange the planting. Let’s keep “Gulae’s Garden” growing!

On March 25th, 2019 we had the honor of planting a Magnolia Yellow Bird tree in Seoul, South Korea in the “Road to Heaven” section of the Morning Calm Graden! Please enjoy the video below of the planting. Special thanks to Tipu Ahmed, Appna, and everyone else who made this planting possible! Let’s keep “Gulae’s Garden” growing!

Gulae’s Garden has now reached the west coast! Thank you to Farah Rana and her family who chose to plant a tree at their residence in Danville, California. Farah Rana wrote, “it’s beautiful like our Gulae”. Below you can see the planting of the tree as well as what the tree will look like in the very near future!

And another tree joins the map!

Thank you to the Akça family who planted a tree in their lovely home in Louisville, Kentucky. Receiving your messages regarding the tree truly made us smile!

A message from Lale Akça:

“We have planted our Dynamite Cape Myrtle tree today. We picked this tree for Sophia because it has leaves that are bright red in the spring! It has bright green leaves in summer and in the fall they turn a vibrant orange-red. It grows up.to 25-30 feet. It is a fast growing tree with the speed of 3 ft/year.”

 

 

Hello everyone! First and foremost, Thank You! Thank you for your encouragement and kindness throughout this journey. We are grateful for your support. As the Foundation continues to move forward with philanthropic projects, we wanted to take a moment to share with you the inspiration behind Gulae’s Garden!

Gulae, derived from the persian word Gul meaning rose, is what Sophia had fondly went by since childhood by members of our family and those close to her.

In April of 2018,  A dear family friend who works for the Louisville Metro Parks came to us with a very touching idea: let’s plant a tree in honor of Gulae. We were ecstatic! Surrounded by many of our friends and family, shovels in hand; we planted the tree on Gulae’s 25th birthday. It serves as a place for us to reflect, relax and think about her. To think about how much of an inspiration she is to us and to think about the impact we want to have on others throughout our own lives.

We encourage everyone far and wide to plant a tree in memory of Gulae or a loved one they have lost. As the garden continues to grow, we hope that it serves as a way for all of us to heal together.

Here is where Gulae’s Garden has reached so far! Help us go worldwide!

Wow!!! We are so overwhelmed by the support we have received for the foundation so far. Thank you all so much.

Gulae’s garden has already gone global! 

Thank you to Leyla Ataman Seran for planting a tree in Istanbul, Turkey.

 

Thank you to Dr. Fayyaz Mirza and Dr. Faiqa Quraishi who planted a tree in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Below you can track the first three trees of Gulae’s Garden. As the garden grows so will this map!

On April 21st, 2018 we planted a tree in Louisville, Kentucky in Gulae’s name. Mom likes to call the location where we planted the tree “Gulae’s Garden” and so the name has stuck! Gulae’s friends and family wanted a place where they were able to sit and think of Gulae in Louisville. The tree is located in Thurman Hutchins Park and is right beside a peaceful pond. Symbolically, this tree will continue to grow and provide a gift for this world from Gulae. A single tree can actually provide over 250 pounds of oxygen every year. I will continue to post updates about this first tree. Our goal is to plant trees all over the world in Gulae’s name!

We invite you to join Gulae’s Garden by planting a tree in your home and tending to it with love. Please send us a photo as well to add to the website.

If you would like to visit Gulae’s first tree click on the map below! If you are facing the road with your back towards the pond it is directly behind the bench to your left.