Colorful Caladiums

Garden gets color from the flowers within  it, but there are certain plants whose fanciful leaves 

are enough to attract anyone passing by.

One such plant is Caladium. They are summer growing annuals which are grown from the tuber .

                                                                         

                                                        

Caladiums are the tuberous plants where there is no stem in plant and leaves keep on arising for whole hot weather directly from the ground.

                                                                             

They like shady environment ,doesn't do well in sunlight ,leaves grow big in size in semi shade environment.  Tubers are planted in spring ,leaves start arising in early summer .                                                                                                                     

They require regular watering otherwise leaves get wilt when weather turns hot.Although I like every pattern of leaves of caladium but spotted varieties gives so much glitter to your eyes.

                                                                             

In mid summer they come up with a flower which is a 9 inch greenish white spadix covered by a spathe,which fruits a berry with several seeds contained in it.I think should try sowing those seeds next year.   

Abc Wednesday

                                                                                                                         

Bestowed with monsoon

Monsoon has finally arrived in my city .Days are filled with drizzle and weather is in cool state now.

Arid days are finally ended , Garden greenery is back with flora making appearance everywhere.

Monsoon the transition when hot weather finally departs after roasting the city ,thereby welcoming cool weather with the periods of light to heavy rain drenching the soul too.

With the advent of  monsoon Garden gets back its glory , and so the flowers start blooming again.


                                                                     Lantanas

                                                           
                                                             

Lantanas are evergreen shrub that grows wild in our climate .The small flowers held in clusters are attractive from far away too.                                                                                                     

Buds in flowers resemble small pillows or cushions if seen closely. Lantana  may look orange from distance but when flower head  is examined distinct white ,yellow, red colors are blended when viewed from afar.                                                                                                               

They grow wild upto 6 ft. height and can extend upto 8 ft. ,leaves are textured surfaced  with toothy edges. Leaves emit an unpleasent aroma ,flowers dont really have any smell.

They look amazing among  paths , ways also great for shrubberies, hedges.                                  

                                                                           Pentas


                                                      

A dwarf erect growing shrub with striking resemblance to the Ixoras. Flowers are tiny star shaped which appears on soft furry stems .                                                                                              

All are extremely attractive to butterflies ,Dark red and pink varieties attract hummingbirds too.

In warm climates it grows dense and fast ,flowers continuously whereas in winter they go dormant .They are perennial in our region and flowering is all around year.                                                        

Jatropha

Jatropha is a succulent shrub ,with large lobed leaves that appear at the end of branches.They flower in summer till autumn ,tiny red scarlet flowers look attractive between large leaves.

   

Mexican Oleander

Mexican Oleander is a large shrub that grows well in summer and flowers appear in late summer to autumn.                                                                                                                                         

Leaves resemble similarity with Oleander plants but flowers are distinctive with bell shaped yellow flowers.                                                                                                                                                 

Flowers are sweet scented but poisonous should not be ingested.                                                         

Abc wednesday

Floral friday

Vegetables in Summer Garden

Summers are dry ,with plants surviving in the scorching heat .Since days are struck by heatwaves it becomes difficult to keep Garden green .Till we await for monsoon which seems not to occur before a month or so. We have a reason to rejoice  - the harvest of summer vegetables .

           It has always been great experience to grow vegetables organically in your home garden,which gives taste and health ,otherwise the available in market have no such thing.

    On the other way round it gives you a sense of appreciation when you are rewarded with the bounty of your efforts.Therefore makes you a optimistic person towards life.


                                                                  Round Gourd 

                                                               

Ridge Gourd

Cucumber ( Kakdi )

Capsicum 

Cantaloupe 

Chillies

Cherry Tomatoes 

Abc wednesday

Spring Bulbs : Quaint Amaryllis Lily

Amaryllis bulbs are the most hardy bulbs that are easy to grow and propogate in our climate. They are  best suitable for the hot climate ,but bulbs could suffer where winter is frigid .

                                                             

                   The plant is 60  - 90 cm tall having long strap shaped leaves. The flowers are rose -coloured ,large ,trumpet shaped and are borne in umbels of 2 - 4 flowers at the end of long hollow ,but stout stem.

                                             
                                                                 

The planting time is March - April,the bulbs could be dug out after flowering or left in ground for next year. From my experience its better to leave bulb so that it multiplies over the year and bring up more blooms  .                                                                                                                                      

The flowers comes in semi flowering ,double flowering varieties too.This is an attractive low care plant that rewards with blooms in hot climate when all spring flowers fade away.

  They are good for borders,beds,pots and cut blooms .Blooming time here is early summer or late spring.                                                                              

   Abc wednesday

Today's flowers                                            

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