I've decided I like shaded lush gardens with trees than boring decorative grass

Summer is really here and, the days are getting longer and so much hotter. Until now, the nights have been cool and we have been sleeping under a ceiling fan. But in a few days time, inevitably, the nights will warm. The heat from the day will stay trapped inside the cemented structures that are our homes at night too. The kitchen and bathrooms will be warm and balmy, so much so that the toilet seat itself will be toasty! But, there's mangoes and rooh afzah with ice cold milk to look forward to! June will be hot but July through September will be blessed with monsoon rains. 

And, there's of course the lush greenery , the flowers, the jasmine, the raat ki rani , roses, tuberoses, to enjoy. 

If only, though, we had more tree cover in our cities. Not these idiotic palms but indigenous trees. I've really come to detest the grass front lawns. They only serve an aesthetic purpose, nothing more. 

Houses that more trees in and around them are more charming and, fun to discover. 

Same goes for the green belts. Islamabad is very lush and green yes but the green belts in residential areas could be used more creatively. More than jogging and walking tracks for the privileged. It would be interesting if they could be used as community gardens,  community vegetable gardens, nurseries, compost sources, etc. 

I've seen a lot of activity from the CDA recently: laying new water and electrical lines, beautifying traffic lights with flowers, re-asphalting of roads, etc. But there also there could be more innovative activities too such as making better use of green belts. 

Kavita standing for a photo just outside the main door of

our house. As you can see, it's so lush and beautiful. 

The water and electrical departments ripped open the sidewalk just outside our house beginning 

of the year and guess what? It's still dug up. 

Our house is a corner plot i.e it's on the corner of Street 56 and Agha Nasir/East Service Road. 

This is the view from Street 56. You can't really see the side of the house thanks to the palm trees and the huge bamboo "trees". There are also pomegranate  , chikoo, and guava trees inside the wall on this side of the house. On the other side, my father planted fig and lemon trees. There's also a hibiscus bush and much more. I've grown to love houses that have many trees inside and outside their boundary walls. 

Not only do they they provide much needed shade in the scorching summers but give much more character and beauty to the house. I've come to hate boring grass front lawns that are purely 

decorative. 

"Ami, look at all these flowers!"

There's a health centre very close to our house. 

Kavita told me to take this photo. 

And this!

And this. 

So, we got paper straws with our juice from the khokha. You can even see a video about 

paper straws which Kavita made. 

"Say what?" 

Gorgeous orange sunflowers. They have bloomed at this house again, which is along our walking route on Ahmad Faraz Road. We pluck a lot of jasmine flowers from this house. If they only the knew! 

This is the green belt opposite our house. 

And then we walked to the F-11 Markaz.