Delhi Spring

It is Spring in Delhi. And it is so much more than parks filled with flowers. The parks are filled with flowers though – my favourites are the bright red poppies. And silk cotton flowers, all glossy and red, on trees lining most roads in Delhi. Maybe I just like red!!

Spring is also about butterflies, birds and bees. You will see the common grass yellow, common tiger, white pierrot and on curry / citrus-y leaves, the common Mormon, which is very grand.

You will also see lots of birds, primarily because a lot of them are visitors to the city in winter and stay on till Spring – but who wants to go out in the Delhi winter to see birds (or anything) brrrr!! Another reason you will see them more now is because a lot of indigenous trees shed leaves in Spring. So it’s easy to spot a bird on a bare branch.

And there are bees humming on flowers and creating more plants. Bees don’t appear to be as choosy as butterflies. I see them being as attentive to my minute basil flowers as to the more flamboyant pansies. 

But my favourite for the season, is new leaves. Trees/ shrubs which had become bare and looked disinterested through winter, have started sprouting new shiny leaves. So go to a park next to your house and watch. There is just so much action happening there.