We’re enjoying the few remaining cool days of spring. People are saying it may not last long. The cold winter extended until February, and we suddenly had the tree pollen season for the entire month of March. Instead of April showers we had hail, again. Islamabad seems to have hail in all seasons: summer, winter, and now spring. I was a bit alarmed because I was not done photographing all the flowers at home and in school yet. Well, most of the flowers in school have tattered and torn petals now. Luckily I managed to take a few shots the day before yesterday’s storm. And best of all, the hail did not fall in our area, so our flowers were spared.

Okay, the flowers in the previous post were last year’s blooms. I have never seen poppies until then, and of the different colors we have in school – white, orange, pink, and yellow – the red ones in our very own backyard are definitely my favorite. So much so that I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them.

When they first bloomed last year we had a garden party to celebrate my hubby’s 33rd birthday. Our guests were so impressed by the flowers that they asked for the seeds, which our gardener forgot to do. I still don’t know if he kept the seeds from last year, or bought another packet when he asked for seed money last winter.

I have a love-hate relationship with spring season in Islamabad. This is the time of the year when I get violently ill (throwing up several times at night) due to pollen allergy to the paper mulberry tree. It’s hard to simply stay indoors because this is also the time when flowers are in full bloom. Islamabad never look as good as it does when a variety of colors are everywhere. We’re fortunate to have two yards and a mali (gardener) who plants and takes care of roses, lilies, etc. But my favorite are the red poppies, and you can easily see here why. Tomorrow I’ll share more photos of the other flowers in our garden.