During my Indian Army days, colour pink raised curiosity as it referred to the instructors’ notes during various courses and assessors’ notes during various military exercises.  These notes were printed on pink sheets and was a prized possession for the students and assesses.

June marks the end of the Tulip season in our garden and is the month of Pinks. The pink colour stands out on the lush green background of the lawn.

Neon Star- characterised by their fragrant fluorescent pink blooms, used as edging plants in our garden. The vibrant pink flowers cover the evergreen, blue-grey foliage.

Pink was first used as a color name in the late 17^th century by a Greek botanist for the ruffled edges of carnations. and is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, femininity, and romance. In the 21^st century, pink is seen as a symbol of femininity, though in the 1920s, pink was seen as a color that reflected masculinity.

Rock Soapwort is a vigorous, low creeping plant. Plants form a low mound of bright-green leaves, smothered by starry bright-pink flowers.

Former first lady Mamie Eisenhower loved pink and had pink decor throughout the White House. Elvis Presley had a pink 1955 Cadillac.

Clematis is one of the showiest vines you can grow. With many types of shapes and colours, these plants dress up any kind of structure they climb.

Thyme flowers are typically lavender-colored and edible. They grow at the top of the stems in a sphere-shape with elongated vertical spikes.

Pink makes us crave sugar, so it is often used by shops selling ice-cream or other sweets.

Peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing.   Marco Polo described Peonies, when he first saw them as Roses as big as Cabbages.

Jaipur City is called The Pink City, because of its giant forts, palaces and its distinguished pink colour.

Foxgloves are eye-catching tall, slender flowering plants with flowers in clusters of tubular shaped blooms in colors of white, lavender, yellow, pink, red, and purple.

Astilbe, a shade loving plants and it symbolises patience and dedication. In Greek, the name Astilbe means “without brilliance” or “without sheen” and alludes to the fact that the individual flowers of this species are small and inconspicuous.

Petunias are from the tomato, potato and tobacco plant family. And they drive their name from the South American word Petun, which is another name for Tobacco.

Lily has been a symbol of life, creativity and good luck they are also known as are known as the Flower of Good Fortune.  More than a beautiful flower; it expresses emotions – love and appreciation to offering sympathy and support.

With the advent of ultrasound came Gender Reveal Parties or Baby Showers with Pink for Girls and Blue for Boys.  Assigning colours to babies enforces a belief that they are supposed to grow and fit into. If you’re a girl, you must like pink, and that also means you’re girly. If you’re a boy, you must have blue, and no pink, or else you aren’t manly enough. If you’re a girl and you like blue, you’re a tomboy.

Gendered colors are totally outdated, and we should stop pushing colours on children if we want a world with less stereotypes, less sexism, and less prejudice.

On 16 July 2024, City of Mississauga, where we live, recorded 97.41 mm of rain in a three-and-a-half-hour period. The torrential rains were result of a pipeline of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico that moved into Canada in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. It began on 15 July, when the remnant of Hurricane Beryl arrived in Toronto Area, bringing torrential downpours that resulted in some ponding on some local roads.

The water level in the street across our home rose steadily, engulfing our driveway. It began just before 9 AM and in about 45 minutes there was a deluge.

The First-Responders – Fire fighters and Ambulance – sprung into action and were outside our home to help anyone needing any help in the neighbourhood.

By 10 AM, many parts of the city got flooded and the Fire Fighters and Police launched boats to rescue people submerged in their cars.

City’s crew swung into action immediately to clear all the storm drains to facilitate fast draining of water into Lake Ontario, about three kilometer away.

The electrical utility company came and parked their vehicles in front of our home to disconnect power to the homes in case the water levels rose over their transformers on ground. Luckily for us, it did not – thus ensuring continous power supply to the neighbourhood.

City employed all equipment on hand like dozers and pumps to ensure fast drainage of water.

The City’s crew with volunteers from the community helped everyone in need.

Many cars parked on the roadside were submerged and were written off.

All the basements of the homes in the neighbourhood got flooded due groundwater pressure. The ground absorbed the water from the heavy rains and became fully saturated and the water found its way into the basements. Our basement too began to flood by about 10 AM.

By 3 PM, it was all dry – as if nothing happened. Large-scale developments around our home—such as apartment and office complexes, shopping malls and roads—have added vast stretches of pavement to our area. These expanses of concrete and asphalt inhibited drainage and worsened flooding. The water flowed into the neighborhood’s streets rather than seep into the soil or flow into Lake Ontario.

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  William Shakespeare

For centuries, roses inspired love and brought beauty to those who received them. The rose’s rich heritage dates back thousands of years. We have over fifty bushes in our garden.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was fond of red rose that he wore a red rose on his jacket until his last breath.

It is said that the floors of Cleopatra’s palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals.  Shakespeare refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings. It is also New York’s state flower.

Age the world’s oldest living rose is believed to be 1,000 years old. Today it continues to flourish on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral of Germany. Roses are truly ageless. Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilised remains of wild roses over 40 million years old.

Black and blue Roses don’t exist. Black Roses are very dark red, and blue pigments don’t occur naturally – the blue colour can only be achieved through genetic modification in a lab.

The largest rose bloom ever bred was a pink rose measuring approximately 33 inches in diameter, bred by Nikita K. Rulhoksoffski from San Onofre, California.

A red rose is an expression of love. Red roses can also be used to show respect, admiration, or devotion. A deep red rose can be used to show regret and sorrow. The number of red roses given has a special meaning as well. 12 red roses are the most popular number to give; it means Be mine and I love you.

There are a lot of variations of the pink rose. Usually, pink roses are used to express gentle emotions such as admiration, joy, gratitude and deep or endless love.

Dark pink rose blooms may mean deep gratitude and appreciation. They also express elegance and grace.

Light pink rose blooms are symbols of pleasantness and innocence.

White is the color of purity, innocence and sacred love. It represents love that is eternal and endures beyond death. White roses usually may symbolise a new start, and it is a custom for brides to hold them when she walks down the aisle at her wedding. In certain faiths, the white rose can represent the sanctity of a marriage. White roses can be used to show sympathy or humility. They also may be about spiritual things.

Yellow roses are usually used as an expression of exuberance. Yellow roses show feelings of joy, warmth, and sometimes welcome. They are symbols of friendship and caring. The yellow rose, unlike some of the other roses, does not mean or express any romance.

Orange roses remind most people of a fiery blaze. These fiery blooms are symbols of passion and energy. Orange roses can be used to show desire and pride.

The color of burgundy is a symbol of beauty.

Green roses (these are sometimes white roses with shades of green) can symbolise best wishes, luck, and blessings for a good life or recovery of good health.

A violet or purple rose may show protection, and also a sense of majesty, royalty, and splendor. These roses are used to show adoration.

A lavender rose, like its color, shows enchantment. It also expresses love at first sight.

Peach-colored rose is gifted when you are grateful for someone or just want to show your appreciation.  It shows appreciation and gratitude or a different way to say, Thank You!   They symbolise innocence and purity.

Cream roses are indicative of charm and thoughtfulness.  Gifting a bunch of cream roses is an ideal way to show someone that you care – but without any romantic intentions.

The rose is one among the only three flowers mentioned in the Bible. The others are lilies and camphire – akin to henna.

The rose also grows into some fruit. The fruit is called a Rose Hip. It is shaped like a berry, and most are red in colour, but you can find black and dark purple versions.

In 2002 a miniature rose, named Overnight Scentsation, was taken to space to assist in studies that aimed to show effects of low gravity on the smell of roses. The study also aimed at learning how to improve the fragrances of several consumer products.

Due to the heavy blooms, staking the stem is essential, as the flower is top heavy and will bend, break or fall over

After a heavy downpour, the petals of old flowers carpets the ground beneath.

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said.  Victor Hugo