Bud(g)s Beauty

I decided to do a Birthday Gift Blog after discovering that it was our fellow garden blogger Greg’s (http://midnightgarden12.wordpress.com/) birthday this month (this also is dedicated to other fellow bloggers whose birthday falls in December. May life bloom ever-beautifully! Here’s a glimpse of what your lives were like before it bloomed this month. Hope you all like this gift. Happy Birthday again Greg and others! May many more happy blooms open in the years to come in your lives!). Wouldn’t it be special for our Garden Blogger friends to see such posts. So it’s my humble request that you all update your Date of Birth in your profiles. Thank you.

No matter how much you speak to your plants, coo to them, serenade to them, or whatnot, they don’t respond as they do to the gentle caress of the bugs. Now, I’m not complaining, but just stating the fact.

No one can ever make the Lantana open its eyes like the butterflies (I couldn’t capture them as they were too quick for my basic camera, for that matter most of the bugs were too quick for me to capture them caressing the buds).

Lantana camara var. aculeata - Lantana

The Chillies might be red hot when ripe but are cool and pleasing when they’re about to bloom.

Capsicum frutescens - Chilli

And the Cockscomb! Man! I was lucky to eavesdrop on these people’s intimate conversation. The bee (I guess that’s what it is) was made over this Cockscomb especially, and was all over it, caressing, cooing, singing, and whispering.

Celosia argentea var. cristata - Cockscomb crested

The bees know time better than humans as they never fail to visit this Four O’ Clock almost every day.

Mirabilis jalapa - Four O'clock - Krishnakeli

Well, I can’t praise this beauty enough… but I don’t want to overdo it at least for some time now…

Hibiscus rosa-sinesis - Hibiscus - Japâ Pushpa

These candies are an ever-favorite of an unknown bee that literally dances around the bud – I’ve never seen it near them when in flower. By the time I clicked my camera, it jumped on to the Ruellia and even there, I manage only a lousy image of it (see if you can spot a light blue body with stripes on lower left-bottom corner amidst the Ruellia blooms)

Tecomaria capensis - Cape Honeysuckle

Well this green-eyed insect-peacock (that’s what I named these flying beauties for their beautiful splash of colors) seems to love Ixoras (Again you might be able to see a black speck on the lower left-bottom corner on the leaf)

Ixora coccinea - Ixora

The Jasmine requires none as she’s too proud to let anyone near.

Jasminum sambac var. 'Belle of India' - Arabian Jasmine 'Belle of India'

Jasminum sambac var. 'Grand Duke Of Tuscany' - Arabian Jasmine 'Grand Duke Of Tuscany'

The lone one in meditation before opening her eyes to the sun.

This fly seems to like my Dwarf Oleander a lot as most of the times I see him lurking around its pot. What’s so special about my Olie?

Nerium oleander - Oleander

Waiting to smile, the canna is in no hurry. She’d openly slowly no matter a human, bird, or insect cooed to her.

Canna spp. - Canna lily 'Orange Delight' (I nicknamed it)

And so is the Hippeastrum

Hippeastrum hybrid - Amaryllis Lily

These are Butterflies’ all-time favorite too.

Ipomoea nil (Convolvulus nil) - Blue Morning Glory - Krishnabijah

And these too…

Zephyranthes candida - Rain Lily White

I almost forgot this beauty on which the insect peacocks sit most of the time.

Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno' - Crape jasmine

(Identification of the insects are appreciated)

The short lived ones…

Life is long yet it seems very short. People come and go, but you never stop. You can’t! Neither can you stop people going out of your life. Some, you wouldn’t want to, and some you want to. Not all that look beautiful taste good. Though these lines sound a bit depressing to the readers it’s something everyone should learn to accept and life wouldn’t be so difficult then.
Yes, I’m going to talk about such uninvited, yet delightful guests who lived with me only for a short period of time. These came as a trio, killing my lemon seedling, but I let them be, but soon one of them got tired and hid themselves into the earth.
Meanwhile, feet away someone else had arrived silently, which I failed to notice initially, as her presence wasn’t so noticeable!Within three weeks she grew into a mature woman, showcasing her beautiful flowers.

The two guys were slow in their growth but did look healthy and happy.

And another kiddo too grew up pretty fast that I didn’t even notice its arrival until it was about a feet high.

And the red-spined one! How could I forget him? He was hiding behind his roommate and even after weeks, he wasn’t clearly noticeable until you get closer to their room. (See if you can spot him. It's difficult as his leaves blend with his roommate's)

Miss Cucu, in spite of showing up late, put up a non-stop show of blooms, even during the hard rains. She soon began giving out fruits.

The lazy duo looking at her began a fight among themselves and tried their best to attract her with their blooms.

Everyone loved her.

And the kiddo too finally became matured enough to showcase his flowers.

Red-spined cocky was no lagger. He was ready with his first half-grown flower within days. He fell in love with his roommate, which became evident in his growth.

The first fruit of Miss Cucu was never tasted as an unidentified cruel stranger plucked it away before she could let it grow to its full height. This put her into a great depression. She started dropping her flowers and stopped drinking water, letting her leaves wilt. No matter how much I fed her and how much I facilitated her growth, she wouldn’t grow well.

The duo felt sorry for her and tried to cheer her up with their show, but she wouldn’t recover. The duo, who were madly in love with her, couldn’t see her dying slowly and they too began wilting away.

Before she bid goodbye, she gave me a dwarfed fruit as a parting gift and said, “Take me away, I can’t stay here anymore.” I looked at her grievously. She was not the usual cheery self. He proud flowers had lost their splendor and their leaves lost their freshness. I accepted her gift, my heart lamenting for her and did as she told me. Out she came, breathing out her last breath.

The duo shrieked at her departure and lamented aloud, “Let us go too. We can’t live here anymore.” And came out the duo, joining their brother.

The kiddo was too shocked at the scene that happened around him and he left me too.

But the only one who didn’t was the red-spined cocky. He was so in love with his darling that he couldn’t follow his companions. He did cry for a day, but his lover consoled him with her blooms.

Days after her departure, we tasted her gift , which tasted so bitter that the moment it touched my tongue I had to spit it out. No wonder it wasn't tasty, as she bore it in mourning. God knows who tortured her and snatched her happiness away! [sigh]