Look Carefully to Discover Beauty

I discovered beautiful flowers today during my morning walk in Kingston (London). It was ‘raining.’ Rain here is like a spray of water from a long distance. Even ‘drizzle’ does not describe it well.

The drizzle however made me keep my head down. There are shrubs along the road. I suddenly noticed this yellow flower in full bloom. It was small and beautiful.

I bent down and clicked a photograph. This flower is found in Thane too. And easily found by the roadside. Nothing unusual about it. Except that I noticed its beauty and symmetry today. This flower is Dandelion, and it is edible. A website tells me that Dandelions are a sweet-smelling flower with a honey-like taste that once you try, you will want more.

That Dandelion is edible plant was my googled discovery after reaching home. Seventy years ago, I had the habit of chewing a shrub when I was attracted to it, but no longer! There was no google then and none was needed!

My walk continued and my eyes were searching for shrubs and flowers along the street. I saw this beautiful plant. There were plenty of these plants on the street.

I googled for name and other information. It is a ‘Common Yarrow’ plant. “The botanical name Achillea millefolium can be traced back to the hero of Greek mythology, Achilles. He is said to have saved the injured king Telephus with yarrow leaves during the Trojan war. The anti-inflammatory effect of the medicinal plant is scientifically proven.”

Wow! Why neglect such an important plant? We neglect many important things, and this flower plant was no exception. It was growing by the roadside.

I walked a few hundred yards when I found these flowers drooping over the wall. Beautiful they were.

Hummingbirds find these ‘Trumpet creeper’ (Campsis radicans) irresistible. Wikipedia tells me that it grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may dismember them in the process. Ruthless pruning is recommended. Phew!

And then I noticed another shrub. About five feet tall. I took out my mobile for taking a quick photograph. And I noticed a bee relishing honey from these tiny blue flowers. Inflorescence!

It is the Butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii. It is not poisonous and attracts bees and hummingbirds alike. Bee sitting on flowers provides a great moment for photographers. I must have clicked a dozen snaps!

My walk continued. Eyes were searching for more flowers. And suddenly I noticed this little one had so many droplets. Mercurialis annua. Google tells me that it is used externally to treat women’s complaints, ear and eye problems, warts and sores.  

I bent down and clicked. The plant had so many droplets of water on its leaves. It was looking beautiful. If we look for beauty, we will find it everywhere, even in the flowers of weeds growing by the roadside.

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is also in the eye of a photographer, what say you?

Vivek S Patwardhan

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others/ All work copyrighted.