Spring stars : Paper Daisy or Straw Flower

Paper Daisy plants are easy to grow. They can grow in full sun to partial shade. They can grow in poor to rich soil, can survive drought conditions too.                                                                     

Flowers are bourne on long straw  alike  plants which are 50 - 70 cm long on which flowers of 7 - 10 cm diameter are being bloomed   .                                                                                                     

                                     

The flowers exhibit a long range of colors from silvery white to rich yellow,rich red ,salmon pink,  and deep red.                                                                                                                                

The dried flowers are used for winter decoration. Flowers are cut at half open stage before the yellow centres are showing , are kept in hanging position in cool ,airy place for drying.          

  Abc wednesday

Today's Flowers

Floral Friday

Spring Bulbs : Ranunculus

Rose alike flowering bulb with striking contrast colors that give an adhere to spring garden. .Brilliantly colored flowers are Ranunculus' chief attraction, and they are indeed special. They most often come in multiple layers of delicate, crepe paper--thin petals, looking like an origami masterwork.
         Ranunculus leaves, grass green and vaguely celery-like, grow in a mound 6 to 12 inches across. Flowers on 12- to 18-inch stems emerge in February from fall-planted bulbs.

Growing Guide of Ranunculus by bulb :

1. In our region Ranunculus bulbs are being planted in fall season i.e. mid october to early november.

2. This year a pink Ranunculus bulb was planted in mid October .

                                                                 

Above picture is of Ranunculus bulb sown overnight in water before planting.     

Sowing in water leads to easier and early germination of bulb.                                

The correct method to plant bulb is shown in below picture ,one should plant it in good fertile soil in a narrow pot .                                                                                                         

3.  After a three and half month first flower came to bloom ,the plant should be kept in full sunlight and fed with good organic fertilizer for healthy nice blooms.

            4.It blooms for long around 20 days  conditionally weather stays warm and not hot.After few days more bloom came .
                                                     

                                                                                                                                         
  5.After flowering is done the plant should be kept in shade and brought to dried out state ,so that bulbs could be saved for next spring.Usually they multiply themselves ,so you get more from single bulb sown.

p.s.                                                                                                                                           

   Tips:                                                                                                                                  

      The pot used to plant bulbs should be not  be too deep  .                                             The pot must  have good drainage capacity.                                                             

     The plant  should   get full sunlight otherwise flowers would  get  adverse and         small .                                                                                                                  

    They must be fed with manure on arrival of leaves and on first bloom to activate the plant.                                                                                                        

Spring Stars : Nasturtium & Nemesia

Nasturtium is an easy-to-grow annual whose leaves and flowers are edible. These plants with their bright greenery and vibrant flowers are good for containers or ground covers. Their pretty fragrance also makes them a good choice for cut flowers. Nasturtiums are perfect to grow with children because they grow so easily and rapidly .

            There ability to grow like vine for the whole period from late autumn to early summer makes me grow them year after year and never give upon them.They could be grown in porches,rockeries,shallow containers or every other form of container.

                                                                          

They prefer full sunlight but can be grown in partial shade too with reduced blooms.They are good self seeders in my garden and always pop up in the late autumn .

      They come mostly commonly  in orange color  but there are more colors ,semi double ,double varieties .They mark there presence easily amongst other annuals can be planted with purple,yellow,red flowering annuals to give striking contrast .

                        

                                                          

                                                                    

Above are some more colors that showed there face this spring.

Nemesia :

               Nemesias are most attractive shaped flowers with dainty cup-shaped, jewel-bright flowers occur in 4-inch clusters atop delicate stems of narrow green leaves. Nemesias require long cool climate ,since seeds are tiny so finds difficult to propagate plant from seed .

Use them as edging plants, ground covers, in mixed borders, woodland plantings and as container or hanging basket plants. Most varieties grow to about a foot in height, but there are some that get as tall as two feet. These versatile little plants offer a wide range of flower colors, and some come in bicolors.

Alike spring annuals spring bulbs are also integral part of spring garden which I'll discuss in upcoming posts.

Abc wednesday

Spring Stars : Marigolds

The Marigold is said to have derived its name from “Mary’s Gold”, taken from the fact that early Christians placed flowers instead of coins on   Mary’s altar as an offering. This flower is often used in festivities honoring Mary.  

                                                                         

   
                                                                                                            
                                                    As they are luminous and beautiful to see, they are often used as love charms. They are mostly used in weddings depicting beauty and a sign of new beginning for the married couple.

Marigold flower has a very important and prominent place on any occasion of celebration, either it's the welcome of some important person, the marriage ceremony, a festival celebration , a pooja of a diety or any function. It's being elegantly, prominently colorful, it's presence makes an occasion not only beautiful, but vibrant and energetic too. And most importantly, it's availability is in abundance, it's grown and found in India almost in every state, every place. 
  
In Hinduism too, the flower symbolizes auspiciousness. The saffron/orange colour signifies renunciation and hence is offered to God as a symbol of surrender. While offering the flower one should also remember that marigold is a very hardy flower and has a stout, erect stalk (hence the scientific name of 'erecta') - in fact, the Sanskrit name for marigold is Sthulapushpa which signifies this. It symbolizes a trust in the divine and a will to overcome obstacles. This is also why the flower assumes such improtance on Vijayadashami - the day Lord Rama prevalied over Ravana - a victory of good over evil.

There are innumerable kinds of Marigold ,this spring I am able to grow ..

                                                 

                                                         AFRICAN MARIGOLD

FRENCH MARIGOLD

Gaillardia alike Marigold id unknown 

Can someone identify this specie of Marigold

Pot Marigold or Calendula

Abc wednesday