Weekend Cheer

So, the day rolled in and wonders of wonders I got to begin, since Vivek had by chance missed marking all of the group, you see on his yellows bright

'Tis the season of colors bright
Worn by flowers for our days to light
Keeping us company as we through the day go
Cheering us on when things seem too slow

Dog Flowers

Deepak found this while wandering,

Amidst the straw and browns a yellow speckled green delight
Peeking through the surrounding floor a sight verdant and bright
Passersby stop and savor
Nature's generous favor

Can't leave Vivek out, nevertheless, so

Such golden yellows, blooming so bright
Nature's splendor to make our spirits light
This beautiful Ethopian Meskel flower
Does its beauty on all shower

Adey Abeba (meskel)

ShashiB brought in a beauty...

Like delicate nets over leaves spread
For fairy folks to gently tread
Petals gently unfurling
Like the weekend sweeping in and uncurling

Pinks from my cousin, Rachna and Shalini

Pink laden shrubs color the morn

These beauties many a garden & walkway adorn

Light and deep, the colors into the mind do sink

Give rest to minds and us with nature link

Myriad Blooms

Vivek says he borrowed this from his missus' pix to share with us

Colors so delicate, yet so true
Standing in amity one glorious hue
On stems slender they blow in the breeze
The vision and fragrance cause many a sightseer to freeze

Deepak these days seems to have a fondness for pinks & reds

Dew drenched pinks with a center ruby red
The ant marching blithely and fearless ahead
A beautiful flower, Nature giveth to us
With the maximum of love and minimum of fuss

'Twas my turn, so be it:

Is it a tail, is it a plume
So many flowers in one bloom
Draped along the tree
Blossoms pink, white and free

ShashiB is bringing in surprises galore, he quoted Robert Frost and I ran with it

Woods are lovely dark and deep
Wonder what secrets do they keep
Come alive in spring and hold sway
As branches blossom and buds come out to play

My co-contributors are:

Vivek, Deepak, Anjali,  and ShashiB

Deep hues, they greet...

Vivek decided to lead today, with a lovely story: We came across this during our morning walk. The missus liked it so much....in the evening she got a surprise gift: A sari of the same color.

Blooms every morning a deep red
A distant signal for the eyes to be led
Plucked by many, offered to the Lord
For showers, blessings and defense of his sword

 

Cyprus Vine

Corrected by Anjali

From Deepak, come 

Lovely pinks and greens do the morning greet
Set the cheery tones for everyone to meet
Colors vibrant and rich all a-glow
Like a small stream they merrily flow

 My flower comes courtesy a good school friend, Anjali, those were the days...

Is only fair that today's beauty be in line with those before
This beautiful flower tell tales deep and more
Standing upright and true
This is one deep hue

 

Double Petunias

Is any garden complete without 

 Roses, they do rule our gardens
Beautiful colors & fragrances that mellow our hearts
Speak of friendship, love, 100 emotions and 1000 pardons
True companions to Cupid's darts

 Roses from GG

I have no issue, with quoting the bard

A rose by any other name is just as sweet

Made for people to greet and meet

A flower that holds emotions so profound

So many meanings, they sometimes confound

 From Shinjini

Not to be outdone, Shalini came in with this beautiful trailing display

Draped so neatly, full of blooms

The evergreen Bougainvillea looms

Over gates, fences, riches on display

Amidst its myriad colors nature's creatures play

From ShashiB

A profusion of blooms, such cheery yellows

Do beckon us and hail well met fellows

Our walks they brighten

Our daily stresses lighten

Contrasts galore...

As usual Deepak set things off, I need to  tell my cousin to speed up...

The contrast of the dark against the light
Brings honey bees to the pink bright
Both colors harmonize and blend
Us humans should take the cue and similarly meld.

I managed to finally jump in with mine, but not before GG pulled out a memory divine:

Layouts designed by human hands
Aligning colors in broad bands
Blooming flowers up the game
While we scamper to them name.

Red, green and white, colors washed bright
By the rains till they sparkle in the morning light
The awe that they inspire
Helps us to rise beyond base human desire...

Not to be left behind, Vivek brought us these beauties from his time in Adis Ababa

Roses delicate and full of grace
Humans to delight and amaze
Colors wondrous n petals delicate
To spread love and destroy hate

Shalini brought in a lovely pink...

One bright pink flower rules
The greens around, it schools
Only one can hold the day
While flowers n shrubs do sway

Shinjini talks of the love that these flowers to her timeline bring and has promised to dig into her archives for more beautiful images to string... 


We will hold her to her words, and incite her further with

Dig them out, bring them forth
Let them sail, let them hold court
Let them the humans delight
Fill these gloomy locked-in days with love and glory bright ...

Nimmy finally joined in with a beauty from her archives

This beautiful, full bloom definitely made my day
Rain in a steady stream comes down
Thunder roars and stampedes across town
Amidst all this, Lady Pink has her say

Lady Violet walked in to say, hey... let's play

 Was chatting with T on WhatsApp, when he generously shared this

He gave me permission to add this in time
Said i could create my crazy rhyme
 Rohingya Refugee Lotus is its name
Densely packed stretches will never be the same

ShashiB treed this lady in

A weeping willow, its branches all a trailing

Covering the wide path and sheltering the railing

Reminds you of a damsel shy

Even as she poses prettily by the sky

Blessed Blooms

These posts expanded beyond the blog, went onto Twitter, where friends generously shared their flowers; these are posted here with their permissions. As usual images are theirs, the descriptions mine
 
The day's narrative was begun by Deepak

Love the geometry of these blooms

And pictured as they are, truly seem to cut surrounding gloom

Flowers, brilliant red

Lending their sprightliness to the day ahead

GG came in with a rarity:

The rarest of rare 

Shows Nature's care

On humans does shower

Her blessings via gorgeous flowers 

The Blue Lotus in #Lucknow's botanical gardens (pix taken 13 years ago)

And, Shalini followed that up with one from IHC-Delhi (pix taken last year) 

The Lotus, a beauty unfurling

Each petal, slowly uncurling

Revealing slowly its depths

So that we may be truly blessed 

Among these gems, how shall I my little flower place

'Tis truly overwhelmed with such grace

But, promise I did make

To share its humble glories for everyone's sake

Blackberry Lily

The wrap up was given by Shashib

Cherry Blossoms deserve a Haiku
Which I really do not know how to do
My humble meter, cadence and rhyme
Is only meant for passing time
To bring forth a smile is all i want
Lots of leeway please, this hackneyed verse-maker grant!

This was the front pathway in April where there are two Cherry Blossoms

Beauty amid thorns

A flower on a bed of thorns

Is not of beauty shorn

To reach it is the true test

Life always challenges the very best

These posts expanded beyond the blog, went onto Twitter, where friends generously shared their flowers; these are posted here with their permissions. As usual images are theirs, the descriptions mine

From Shashib 

A beautiful orange cluster

A circle with enough luster

Glowing so bright

A competitor for sunlight

From Deepak

What flower this is, I do not know

The purples, really do glow

Sunday morning, bright and clear

Life slows down, as a little rest is near

 

From Sai Vishal

Bunches of flowers on a shrub

Make the garden a thriving hub 

Colors pleasant for the eye to see

Adding to the Sunday morning's glee

From Gautam Ghosh

In shades of pink

Lies my love

Forever blossoming

In your happiness

(Lines courtesy: Sai)

Charming Yellows

Red and greens and yellows
Make for real charming fellows
Rain lilies in the pot, spreading their charms 

In the unique way that Nature's got

Rain Lilies

And contributed by another friend (Nikita) on the group, Rain Lilies on her balcony garden

  

Deepak added these 

Wildflowers are strong, don't care where they grow

They bloom, move and nod with the seasonal flow

Their colors so bright, nodding with the wind in delight

Making for a blessed, beautiful sight

Shalini chipped in with her rain lilies

Sai came in with this beauty

A tiny yellow center against the dark pink

A glimpse of beauty that into my mind does sink 

Brings forth a grin and a smile

With that I am ready to walk a mile

Themed Pink

This week seems to be deeply pinked, 

Skies, flowers, sunsets all linked

It's as if Nature seems to say

Look at me, my majesty's on display

Desert Rose (Adenium)

ShashiB  added in

 It seems as if Nature is out to display her pinks and whites

The contrast against the greens is so bright

Stops you in your tracks as you pass by

This flower glorious, yet shy

Deepak added these in

Bobbing heads, see how they bob

Absolutely perfect flowers to lob

Mayhaps we can win this play

These flowers rule the day

Melody in Color

A flower with a melodious name

Nature's generosity is not ours to tame

Colors vibrant, deep and true

Like an incoming sunset spreads its hue

Frangipani