Multi-coloured fresh flowers indicate onset of spring

Islamabad : It’s so refreshing to see the bursting coloured and the blooming flowers after winter break where most of the trees give a barren look. These barren trees give a beautiful look to the cities in winter, but it is quite refreshing to see the arrival of colourful buds in spring that adorn the trees along with light green supple and tender leaves that sprout from its lifeless branches. These trees adorn the beautiful cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi where the fruit trees give a different look to the cities.

February till March are the months that mark the arrival of spring giving colour and new life to trees and cities. After the chilly weather, the people enthusiastically wait for spring to arrive as they love to walk in the park with trees sprouting with fresh green leaves and pleasant weather, unlike the chilly winds of winter, that keep people mostly indoors. Most of the people also remained indoors because of COVID-19 in these winter months because of the second wave that hit the country. The local parks of the twin cities are adorned with new planted spring flowers and these coloured floral beds adorn the main intersections on the main roads.

The fragrance of these flowers appeal to the daily commuters who could admire the beautiful road junctures while passing through them. The fruit trees of plums, peaches, apricots, loquats have started blooming white and pink flowers, that gives a festive look to the trees. The seasonal flowers are planted in the month of February, so that they are in full bloom in the arrival of spring. Petunia, Pansy, Gazenia, Dahlia, Ranunculus and roses of different colours mostly bloom in spring and remain intact till June. With the help of the latest information available online, one can easily identify a huge variety of flowers and plants with so many apps helping the plant lovers. The ones with the green fingers mostly take help from these apps to identify, sow, nurture and care about their plants. Islamabad has so many public and private garden groups in which people can interact with each other, have workshops of sowing, nurturing certain plants and flowers are conducted.

This circle consists of young and old people who love to share some local and imported plants with the other group members and get appreciated for their efforts. Garden competitions are also conducted by different private societies that encourage the habit of gardening and flowering among the residents. Mostly people living in other cities plan their vacation in spring to see the beauty of these twin cities, admiring its beauty, its greenery, green belts and its properly planned infrastructure. The sight of the whole city from top of the mountain, mesmerizes people who go there on the mountains to appreciate its beauty. Many families from southern cities come to Islamabad to enjoy the weather here and see Murree and Swat. Sidra Ahmed a student said that one can enjoy the spring, the smell and beauty of flowers till the onset of pollen season which makes asthma patients suffer a lot. “ I am an aesthematic patient and I dread thesring season as my condition deteriorates as soon as the olen season starts. She requested the authorities to cut the hazardous trees that produce pollen to dangerous levels and only pant those trees in Islamabad under ‘Billion Tree Tsunami Campaign’ that are beneficial for health. The people of Islamabad have suffered a lot with these trees planted by the authorities who had always only focused on the beauty enhancement of the capital through planting trees who produce pollens with dangerous levels. Plant only those trees which maximizes the oxygen level and absorb the toxic gases of the environment,” she said. Sherdil Khan, a concerned citizen said we need to check and control air quality of Islamabad more often, and more air quality monitors should be installed in the city to keep a check on air quality of the city. “We had such a great air quality in lockdown, where all the traffic was reduced to minimal, but now again the air quality has reduced and Lahore has become the second most polluted city in the world. We need more outdoor activities like flower shows and birds show in spring but at the same time we are worried about pollen and air pollution too,” he said.