A guide to the summer flowers that bloom in Chennai

Over a month in the past, the brown, popcorn-like buds of the copper pod tree popped open for a spectacle. The tree introduced us its pleasant annual yellow shock. During the first days of bloom, Ok Malathy, a conservancy employee in T Nagar, mentioned that she was miffed. Years of sweeping and piling these floral blooms in a difficult little rickly pile, was getting considerably boring, she mentioned. “But I have to admit, it is pretty,” she mentioned, when prompted.

The flowers of the chrome copper pods have lengthy carpeted the roads of Chennai, signalling the arrival of summer. If you stand below one in every of these bushes for lengthy sufficient, the winds will convey you a few of its choices and dot your hair like a dishevelled garland. It is one in every of the many joys to take you thru an in any other case unrelenting summer in the metropolis. The copper pod nonetheless, is just one of the many flowering bushes that come alive throughout these months. One can see the pink peaks of a gulmohar tree, the orange of the Indian coral tree, the delicate purple of the satisfaction of India tree and the grape-like buds of the Indian laburnum. Each flower calls for an incantation from Keats. A factor of magnificence is certainly a pleasure without end.

Pauline Deborah, an affiliate professor who has been educating Botany at the Women’s Christian College, says that it might appear to be a few of these bushes, like the gulmohar, are Indian. They have in any case, been immortalised in Tamil popular culture by means of songs and stills. The tree’s unique roots nonetheless, are in Madagascar.

She says that Colonial period botanists together with Robert Wight, Hugh Cleghorn and Robert Brown imported seeds from numerous international locations and grew them in the Agriculture Horticulture Society on Cathedral Road. Most of those bushes with fairly flowers have been ‘avenue trees’ introduced in to guarantee that the vistas of Madras would replicate a sense related to that of their houses in Britain and Scotland. That is when the likes of silver oaks have been launched to India.

Shobha Menon, the founding father of Nizhal Trust, an NGO that has been engaged on city tree conservation for many years, says that bushes like gulmohar, perceived as rain bushes in South America, have been planted as a result of they grew shortly. “In the process though, we have lost a lot of our native trees,” she says.

Bougainvillea shrubs
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

Walking by means of the Kotturpuram Urban Forest, she picks up a satisfaction of India flower and fingers it over. This bloom with its delicate lilac petals reminds one in every of origami paper. Its panicle makes it exhausting to press in a pocket book however the flower is one for retains. The city forest, positioned in the centre of the metropolis is one in every of the many areas the place 1,000 native and naturalised bushes and flowers have been attentively planted and tended to. An lively effort has been made to convey bushes like the Kusum and the fig. “Both these trees came in a checked in baggage from Delhi. I had gone for a meeting and both these trees were small. I transferred my clothes into my hand luggage and brought the trees home,” she says, pointing to the stumps that have now metamorphosed into their full kind.

Native bushes don’t essentially have showy flowers. Take the neem for example with tiny white speckles. Pauline says that bushes like the Indian labernum, banyan, peepul, arjun and the pagoda have been actively planted by the Chennai Corporation and the Forest Department over the final 20 years. She helped curate a listing that would offer shade, fruits for birds and in addition be aesthetic. “A cityscape needs a diverse, good mix,” she mentioned.

The gulmohar flower
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

N Niresh Kumar, Superintendent of Parks, Chennai Corporation, says that yearly, they plant between a lakh and a lakh and a half bushes in the metropolis. Some are achieved in partnership with NGOs, others with firms, however most a part of the State Government’s Green Tamil Nadu initiative. Since it’s summer, they’ve halted their efforts. However, they are going to start once more in June, with the planting of small bushes like the plumeria alba with white frangipani flowers and flowering shrubs like the bougainvillea in centre medians on busy roads. They may also be taking on planting initiatives at parks, canals, vacant lands, playgrounds and round ponds and lakes.

“We are planning to plant trees including the Spanish cherry (magizham), portia tree (poovarasu) and lebbeck (vaagai) in these locations. Their longevity is fantastic and their roots do minimal damage to sidewalks,” he says. He provides that upkeep is vital and have adopted the drip irrigation method to guarantee that the bushes are taken care of. “The key effort is not towards beautification. It is towards urban greenery,” he says.

While folks cease to observe and admire a wonderful flower, the years that go into the means of receiving this reward from nature are sometimes not given a second thought. Shoba says that it’s crucial to not simply say ‘wow’ throughout a tree stroll and perceive the flora round us, but additionally plant a sapling at dwelling, in an condo or on the road. “Even greening your house with small plants will help today,” she says.

Over the subsequent month, go on a stroll, choose up your cellphone, snap an image of a tree and take a look at its flower. Press it in a pocket book or give it to a liked one. Mostly although, google its identify and be taught of the life round you. It could ignite the spark to plant that first tree.

Contact Nizhal on their web site nizhaltn.org, name at 9840904621 or attain out to them on Instagram @nizhalshade for any tree-related emergencies.