Spring Time in my Garden - 2

Here are the Roses. 

 This is the climber which gives out bunches of flowers.

This is a marble shaded one, a new entrant...

Roses bloom round the year, but do well in mild winters and early summer. I have climbers, button or miniature roses as well as other varieties. Mostly these are hybrid ones and don't have fragrance or have a very mild fragrance. The local varieties of dark pink, white and pale yellow ones have strong smell.

Earlier I had nearly 25 different shades of these roses. But now, I have very few left. I am trying to build up my garden again. But in summer with water problems, it is  very difficult to save these plants.

These plants require lot of care, especially with pests. But still must in every garden. Don't you think so?

Watch out for more.....

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Springtime in my Garden-1

Its flowering time in my garden. Before the summer sets in fully, we are enjoying the riot of colours in the garden. Here is a glimpse of bougainvillea. 

This is the multi petalled one in a shade ranging from pink to orange.

This one is the classic dark pink one.

This one is the single petaled, pink-orange shade.

Though growing in pots, being trained for Bonsai, they bloom at the beginning of summer. If proper care is taken, they will bloom through out the summer season. This is one hardy plant, actually vine with spikes, which can be grown in pots, or as fences or as climbers. They bloom in a variety of colours and the flowers are single, double or multi-petaled. 

They are ornamental plants because of their colourful blooms and can be trained or cut in various shapes. They are easy to grow, as they require very little water. Thier growth varies from slow to fast, depending upon the variety of the plant. With frequent fertilisation, and if grown in plenty of sun light, they bloom well. 

They can be reproduced through cuttings. There are nearly 300 varieties of these plants.

This is a good plant for novices and  beginners in gardening as well as for Bonsai enthusiasts.

Keep an eye on my blog for more......

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Jade Bonsai

Hi Friends, It is getting hotter here. The day temperatures are rising day by day. So we are on our way to summer. Now and then we are having some cloudy days with a few showers of rain.

I was not able to take as much care of my garden as I planned for. So Now I am hurrying up with the last leg of gardening that I can carry out before the onset of summer. I still have a bit of sprucing up to do.

Thank God! because of the showers, the plants are able to survive the temperatures. Next week as we will be celebrating our New Year Ugadi, Mother Nature is gearing up with new, shoots, flowers and fruits to welcome it.

Well do you remember the Jade Bonsai, I had? 

Well I lost it, last summer, when I was not able to take care of it with my ill health. It is really tragic, when you loose one of your plants. But in spite of proper caring, we still loose some.

I once again bought two little jade plants. One of them I made like this.

The other one is still in training pot. The above plant is also still very small. But it already looks like a miniature tree after pruning and shaping it. Still it needs time to grow into a proper Bonsai.

Well I am keeping my fingers crossed for a round of showers, so that my garden will get some respite from the heat....

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Jasmine in My Garden

Since two days it is hot here. The rains have stopped.  Just a few showers in the evening. So it is pleasant to work in the garden, early in the morning or in the evenings. Here is one type of Jasmine. I think it is double Jasmine.

Here are the flowers.

The plant is still in the thick polythene cover I bought from the nursery. But it is flowering profusely. You can see the buds.

I am yet to plant it in my garden. It is better to plant it in the ground, if we want lot of flowers. All jasmines are excellent creepers. But it can be cut and controlled as a bush. 

I already have four types of Jasmines. This is one more addition.

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Rain Lilies in My Garden

Every Monsoon season, with the first few showers of rain, these small but beautiful flowers appear suddenly overnight as if bursting out from the earth. They are known as Rain lilies, Fairy Lilies, Rain Flowers, Magic lilies Zephyr Lilies or Atamasco lilies. 

Zephyranthes as they are known technically, are a species belonging to the Amaryllis family. The name is derived from Zephyrus- the Greek god of the west wind, and Anthos- meaning flower. As far as I have seen them, they are available in colours of white, yellow and pink- may be in different shades within the same colour. 

You can know about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zephyranthes 

These are perennial bulbs which can withstand very hot summers of our South India. They completely disappear during the summer months and with the first showers, spring back to life, filling the garden with beautiful small flowers, swaying gently on their slender stalks. 

They can be propagated easily from bulbs. But even seeds can also be used as I have seen.

I used to have all the three colours. But they spread so much that we kept on weeding them out. Now I am only left with yellow ones. I think I will plant the other colours too. Here is a glimpse of these flowers.

They spread like wild fire and it is difficult to dig out the bulbs from nooks and corners of the garden. Still, I love these flowers when grown in posts or beds as they make a very colourful display.

I am busy with my garden. It requires a lot of work as I have been neglecting it for long. Part by part I am reclaiming and redoing it. Mostly my trees and bushes have been pray to termites. So it is really sad to see the plants/trees die away after being in the garden for long time. We are not able to completely eradicate the termites. So i am again plating those lost plants. 

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Spring In My Garden-3

Here are some more glimpses of my garden

 New shoots on Bougainvilleas. They flower during summers.

 White Chrysanthemums. 

 White Roses-small

 Yellow Button Roses

 Lemons.

This is my Puja basket with flowers from my garden..ready for my morning prayers...

Keep a watch on my blog....

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Spring In My Garden-2

Here are Hibiscus flowers in my garden- some of them:

 This is hybrid variety or Hawaii Hibiscus. It flowers profusely and regularly. 

 Here is a closeup.

These are double Hibiscus-baby pink and lemon yellow 

This is dark red flower.

This is tomato red colour.

This is another shade in Yellow which we call sandal wood shade.

 This is purple coloured flower.

 This is orange one.

This is single red local variety.

Well some more in my next posts.....

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Spring In My Garden-1

It is spring time in my garden. After a long time, I am slowly bringing back my garden to shape. It is tough to work on something after almost neglecting it for long. But this year I am determined to work on all things in life which bring joy to me. 

Garden is one of my passions. Healthy plants blooming with flowers and fruits attract various butterflies, birds and other friends of nature into my garden. It is always a pleasure to be amongst them any time of the day. However mornings and evenings with a cup of coffee or tea in my hand, I spend some time, in silence enjoying mother nature,listening to the various sounds of the birds, refreshes and rejuvenates my spirit.  

I am sharing the spring time in my garden with you. Here have a look...

Oranges and Yellows- all chrysanthemums 

Yellow Chrysanthemums

 Orange Chrysanthemums

These are called Star or Baby Chrysanthemums available only in Yellow colour. 

 More for you in my next posts....

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Swamp Lily

After a long time, Swamp Lily plant in my garden flowered.. Have a look.

 This is the flower white in colour, star shaped with long stamens.

 These are the buds.

This is how the plants look. This is also known ad River Lily or Mangrove Lily. 

You can read more about them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinum_pedunculatum

http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=18911

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Green Magnolia

Hello there. Today, I want to share with you something from my garden. It is green Magnolia Champaka. This is the first flower, since I planted it. I am so happy to see it flower. It lifted my spirits. 

Magnolia is known as Champaka in Sanskrit, Champa in Hindi and Sampenga in Telugu. 

Magnolia trees/shrubs were found in most of the gardens of South Indian houses, when houses were built in big plots. Now, because of pocket sized gardens and apartments in cities, we hardly find any of these plants. But during the season, our markets flood with these flowers, which come from small towns and flower gardens cultivated by the farmers. 

I only know three colours of this variety. One is the yellow or golden coloured one known as the Golden Magnolia. This is the most common variety. Here we call it as Simhachalam Sampenga, and Lord Narasimha in Simhachalam(near Vishakhapatnam) is worshiped with these flowers. It is also found in abundance in the areas surrounding the temple.

Green coloured one is also popular. This is known as Aaku (means leaf)Sampenga. The yellow and green flowers are sold in the markets during the flowering season. But the white one is very rare and I have not seen its flowers in open market.It is said that this plant thrives well in Himalayas and likes colder climate.

The yellow and white ones are trees where as the green one is a creeper. But I am maintaining it as a shrub.

The scent of each of these varieties is different. I love all the three, but the white one is very delicate to look at and also, its fragrance is very subtle. The flowering season is also different as far as I can remember. The green and the white flower in winter. But the yellow one flowers in summer. I need to closely watch the flowering now. 

Though I had all the three varieties, the yellow one gets attacked by termites. I have planted it twice and both times as it grows, the termites attack and kill it. I am not able to save it no matter what I do. So I have to plant a new one. Here take a look at the white and green flowers from my garden. 

The green ones are very difficult to find between the leaves. One has to rely on one's nose to locate these flowers :). 

These flowers are used in offerings to Gods and Goddesses and also worn in the hair by women. Usually a single flower (or at the most 2 to 3) is worn in the hair. These are also used in perfumes and incense.

It is said that snakes get attracted to the scent of these flowers and I have heard many stories from my mom and grand mother how these shrubs are infested with snakes. But here in the city where I live, no snake would dare to enter, our human infested jungle..:)...

You can read more about these trees and flowers here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_champaca

http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Champa.html

I will keep you posted.......

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Twin Souls

I happened to see these two butterflies in my garden.

They were so quick, flying all over my garden. I could not get them properly on my camera. This was the best I could do.

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