Here's what is making Mumbai colourful in summer

It's that time of the year when you wished you could live in a bathtub; it's like a furnace out there and even looking through your shades makes the eyes hurt. Yet, look around and many of our green sentinels (at least the few we're left with in Mumbai) seem to defy the sun. By April, new leaves adorn trees, budding begins soon after and flowers are in full bloom come May. "Blaze on!" they seem to say, challenging the scorching rays with their bright-hued inflorescence.

And no, this is not about being in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the Aarey Milk Colony or the evergreen IIT campus at Powai. Whether in Byculla or Vakola, Matunga or Mulund -- and even if you aren't exactly the botanist interested in how the heat-humidity mix is helping trees bloom -- you can't miss the red, purple, orange, yellow, crimson and white carpet of flowers nature lays out every day.

Yellow
Copper pods are the most commonly found yellow flowering trees across Mumbai. All over Goregaon, Chembur, the tony Hughes Road and even the mill-turned-mall district of Central Mumbai, this 'yellow flame of the forest' is also called the yellow gulmohar by many. This ornamental avenue tree native to Malaysia lines streets across not just India and her South Asian neighbourhood but also Nigeria, Florida (US), and even the Hawaii islands. Apart from ample shade, its bright flowers are a great foil for the sun's rays.
Quite unlike the copper pod, the amaltas bears bright golden yellow flowers from where it gets its name of the golden shower tree. It heralds spring in Maharashtra and the southern states and is the state flower of Kerala and the royal flower of Thailand. It can be found at the Godrej premises in Vikhroli, the university's Fort campus and also at IIT Powai. This Indian laburnum is also much respected in Ayurveda for its medicinal properties.
There's another yellow flowering tree, whose fresh fragrance most will be familiar with, or at least those who go to Kala Ghoda, Flora Fountain. The Dombivlikars can find the bakul tree in the MIDC area while Borivlikars can go to the colonies behind the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP0 gate.
Residents of Matunga and Bhatia Baug in Dadar can also enjoy the several rows of bahwa trees bearing lemon-yellow flowers, a privilege not available to other Mumbaikars. The ones in Byculla and Worli lost their battles with ad hoardings in early 2000.

Violet/purple/blue
Next time you are outside Churchgate's KC College, under the Vakola flyover along the Western Express Highway or at the Juhu gymkhana and see the dark violet-purple to white flower-laden taman tree, show some respect. After all, this is the state flower of Maharashtra. Also called the giant crape myrtle because its flowers look like they are made of crape paper, its leaves are used to steep tea in Japan and Taiwan. The distant Mumbai suburb of Kalyan had several of these lining the road leading to Murbad till the late 80s but they were lost to development and road widening.
The purple to lavender veering to blue flowers of the jacaranda just take your breath away. The tree, which has shed most of its foliage in the months before, comes alive in the summer with a canopy of flowers by mid March lasting well into late April when the inflorescence begins to vanish. This South America native is believed to have travelled with missionaries first to Cape Town and then to Bombay where it can be found in Borivali, Mulund and Chembur.
While talking of these colours, how can one forget the kachnar/bauhinia tree. The SoBo crowd can check it out at the NCPA garden and burbwallahs can head to IIT Powai/BARC. Though I haven't tried it, many of my Pakistani friends swear by the taste of the buds of what is also called the camel's foot tree. The buds are used to make a curry in a dahi base. Hmmm... Must google the recipe and try.
At Horniman Circle, you come upon these lovely blue flower-laden trees of life. The fragrance of the small blue flowers hits you even when you are at the pavement outside the Reserve Bank of India. It's a pity this West Indian tree is such a slow grower and often hasn't survived attempts at growing it elsewhere.

White
The beautifully perfumed naag-keshar flower in white with its perfectly golden yellow middle has often been likened to a perfect sunny side up. The heady fragrance is instantly identifiable. This tree's leaves, which turn a tad pink this season, too love the sun. The wood is so hard and heavy that it sinks in water. The wood makes for many uses, the reason why it was mercilessly hacked from the stretch along the Shivaji Talao in Bhandup leading to Mini Land. Even the ones in Kondivitta, Marol in Andheri are lost. If you still want to see these rare trees, either head to the Byculla Zoo or the Kanheri caves, SGNP.
While on white, one has to mention the hardy frangipani tree also called the ksheer champa from the Apocynaceae family known to bleed a white sap when a leaf /flower is plucked. This beautifully shaped tree with low hanging branches is a delight to watch. Much sought after for worship at not only temples, but the several dargahs and grottos of Mumbai, these easy to maintain trees with their beautiful elongated leaves have become the choice of many a landscape designer and several high end hotels, corporate offices, malls, etc sport them in their gardens. There's a slightly pink-hued version too but I prefer the white ones.

Red/saffron/crimson
How can one talk of flowering trees of summer without mentioning the ubiquitous gulmohar or the 'flame of the forest?' Scarlet-red meets orange so beautifully in these flower-laden trees
that it's tough to say which is which. The carpet of red flowers, which I once thought was a nuisance when I had to clean the garden in our Kalyan home, makes for a stunning sight. This Madagascan from the Caesalpinioideae family has taken quite well to India, planted by many for both its shade and ornamental value.
The African tulip is not locally called pichkari for nothing. The riot of dazzling bright red flowers with the bright yellow trimming make you wonder about the divine artist. Also called haldi-kum kum locally for obvious reasons, these can be found on the Bombay High Court premises, Gateway of India and the sleepy stretches of Dadar's Hindu colony. I have to still make up my mind on whether the heritage setting only adds to the tree's allure.
The Pride of Burma with its eye-catching crimson flowers hanging by long and slender stalks can't be missed if one is at the Byculla Zoo or the Mumbai university's Fort campus. Brought to Mumbai by the British, it's sadly not found in other places. Perhaps the reason why it's aptly also called the Tree of Heaven.
Though they aren't trees, potted hibiscus, hamelia and euphorbia in the balcony/verandah seem to love the summer too. If you want a dash of red in morning get these potted beauties home.