Tecoma Flowers Brought the News of Spring
The tecoma flowers had bloomed.
The petals of pink, purple, white, and yellow had concealed the lush green leaves, with the wind carrying some petals to the ground. People refer to these roadside tecoma as the Malaysian version of sakura trees, which only bloom around late February.
“It’s everywhere,” Dad commented. “There’s a lot of fallen petals along the highway.”
“I saw them on the way back from Sungai Petani,” Mom added. “There was a taman where people took pictures of the trees.”
The pastel beauty caught the gaze of the people, but it would soon fade away in March. Missing the opportunity to preserve these ephemeral flowers would need to take a year to find them blooming again.
“I want to take some pictures of the flowers for my friends,” I said. “There are some nearby.”
“I know the place where you can take these beautiful flowers.”
We headed out the next morning. The chilly weather made Dad sneeze several times, so he had to turn off the AC. He drove to a quiet industrial area in Bagan Lallang, where it was safe enough to stop your car at the roadside for pictures. There were no pedestrians around so I could capture the full view with no crowd.
“If only we had a park full of tecoma trees,” Dad commented. “Where we could flower-gaze during the blooming season.”
“Would you bring your tea set along?” I asked.
“Maybe.”
I wished I could stay in a park to read a novel, but the ever tropical climate in Malaysia had to disagree with this romantic dream. Besides, I doubt anyone would hardly stay to enjoy nature when the world was moving too fast.
Just like how we just took the pictures of tecoma trees and left the place afterwards.
Date: 27th Feb 2022