Indian Garden: North West Frontier

Amaryllis

2012-04-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is a very versatile and pretty bulbous plant which gives flowers of great size and color in late spring. At my place the flowering season is in April and i have four different colours. Namely White, Red, White with red stripes and Peach with white stripes.

Planting and Care -
Buy a few bulbs of each color from the nursery and keeping the sprout end base at level of the surface embed the bulbs at a distance of 6 inches in the prepared bed. Prepare the bed with 1 part manure, 1 part leaf compost and 1 part normal lawn soil; aim here is that it should be a rich bunch of nutrients and there should be enough aeration in soil for bulbs to grow and root.

Water the plants every day initially, once the leaves have formed frequency can be reduced. Due to the large sizes of the bulbs, plants are very hardy and drought tolerant; however a twice a week regimen is best in case of water. Also in dry season one will have to water more, the leaves are a good indicator of plants health and moment they turn light green, it is a sign of less water. Hence a good watering if the color is getting lighter is well advised. Break up the soil every two months in order to aerate the plant, take care that the bulbs are not damaged when disturbing the soil with implement.

By December, plants will be established and this is a good time to add composted manure as a 1-2 inch layer on top of the bed. If the plants are in pots then remove and repot at this time, adding copious amounts of manure into the new potting mix.

Increase frequency of watering in March and add a pinch of potash to each bulb. I do not use chemichals, so instead i add wood ash every fortnight to the plants to give them their potash. By April, one notices vertical spikes coming out of the ground (leaves grow in a droopy manner) these in a matter of days then bear bunches of large flowers atleast 4 in number on each stem.

Now the best part about this hardy florists variety; they reproduce on their own and remain perfectly healthy in the ground all year round in North India. So simply after every two seasons pull the bulbs out and replant at six inches and you will have doubled your bulbs.

April Bloom Day

2012-04-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Antirrinum and Gazania

Verbena

Flox (front), Petunia & Nasturtium (middle) Blue Larkspur (back)

Amaryllis

March Bloom Day

2012-04-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Mesembryanthemums (front); Californian Poppy (middle); Blue Larkspur (back)

Muscari

Candy Tuft (front), Nasturtium (middle), Blue Larkspur (back)

Poppy

Summer Bloom Day

2011-05-21T13:14:00.001-07:00

Zephyranthes

Madagascar Periwinkle

Coxcomb

Gardenia

Gaillardia

Winter Garden 2010

2011-05-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

May Bloom Day

2008-06-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

May Bloom Day

Summer is here, mercury topped 48 celcius this month. Nevertheless the summer annuals are in full bloom. Zinnias, Balsam, Portulaca and Sunflower. Perrenials such as Gardenia, Lagustromia Indica etc. are also in action. Considering the adverse conditions, garden is in great shape.

Balsam (front) and Zinnia (back)

Balsam

Zinnia

Portulaca - These shy bloomers are perhaps the most beautiful of all annuals

Sunflowers - Just starting off

Petunias - Still tottering along for the third month running

Gallardia - These are also just starting.. these flowers are leftovers from my seedling nursery

Cosmos

Dwarf Cockscomb

Statice

Amaranthus Tricolor

Phlox- Its been a great year for these guys, lots of flowers in this border.

Perrenials - The most delightful Perrenials are blooming
Almost all trees are in flower, I feature the two best.
Lagustromia Indica - This has to be the grandest Indian tree

Gardenia - The most delightfully fragrant tree that i have smelt.

Bulbs - Two bulb varieties flowered in May

Day Lillies

Zepyranthes

Hydrangea - They are still thriving even though the temprature is above 45 C.

Carnation, Cochia

April Bloom Day

2008-05-19T04:35:00.001-07:00

Late again this month,... have a lousy connection here.. Sorry

The highlight of April are the various kinds of Lillies. The amaryllis is the grandest...

Amaryllis

Iris

Oriental Lillies

Zephyranthes

Some of my annuals are still flourishing. Petunia's thrive in heat as long as they are well watered. These guys will give me flowers till the end of June. Definitely one of the integral parts of my garden; added to their visual beauty they also diffuse a lovely scent in the evening.

Gazanias - These are also called treasure flowers. Once the sun is out, they open their ugly heads to reveal a revitalizing profusion of color.

Phlox- Still going strong, die when the hot winds start next month.

Hebaceous Border - Foreground has double stock (the staked pink flowers). Then there is a line of different coloured Petunias, here they are purple and mauve, then two lines of statis (they are still not in full bloom in this photp. Further back is gypsophila (the white flowers) and in the centre are four hollyhocks. Makes a great effect, however statis should be replaced by larkspur or asters, as statis flowers later than stocks.

Geraniums - These are one of my favorites, due to the color of their flowers. These are some truly vivid pinks, reds and whites. Now the problem of growing them here... I got the seed and planted it in October (seeds were good quality from England) they germinate slowly and then grow slowly in the cold so the first flowers they get are in April. However they get weak in the hot weather of May and for some reason or the other they get diseased in July when the monsoon breaks and die. So lets see, my plan is to strike cuttings when the rains start and then hope they take and grow vigorously during the hot weather so that i have mature enough plants to flower all through winter.

Carnations

Dahlias

Some of the Later flowering varieties haven't done too well because of a cold winter. Like the hollyhocks

Larkspur also flowered a bit late, will plant earlier next year.

Sweet Allysium

2008-03-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Why couldnt all months be like March... all annuals are blooming

Acroclinium

Anchusa

Anemone

Antirrhinnum

Chinese Asters

Brachicoma

Calenchoe

Californian Poppy

Cornflower

Cosmos

Daisy , Irish Bells and Dahlias (Calenchoe on left)

Gazania - Treasure Flower

Larkspur and Nasturtium

Linaria

Marigolds
Mesembryanthemum

Muscari

Nemesia

Pansie

Petunia

Phlox

Sweet Peas

Tulip
Verbena

2008-02-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

February Bloom Day

Been a very cold February, so not been too much development since last month. Mesembryanthemum are beginning to bloom, and they are as good a sight to see as any on a nice spring day. Weather has finally begun to warm up, think nights are at 10 degrees and days at 24 degrees. Anyways heres the documentation

Mesembryanthemum - Ice Plant

Oriental Lilly - Day Lilly

Acroclinium

Pansie - Heartease

Shirley Poppies

Nasturtium

Sweet Pea

Tulip - Finally i have Tulips; the place i live in temprature goes up to 45 degrees centigrade in the summer... so growing these requires manipulation. I kept them well wrapped in plastic and put them in a fridge for six weeks, then i took them out and put them into the bed. And after a very long wait they have just suddenly appeared.

This one is a flower i have developed on my own, wanted to create a colourful ground cover; so made a cross of couple of small varieties like ellysiuim and crossed them with Cinreraria.

Good color and low spread, but does not do too well in full sun.

African Violets

One sure casualty of the cold weather have been Dahlias, thier leaves got burned and growth stunted due to the ground frost. Only the first few are blooming, will make a show probably next month. Nevertheless, there is always lots of charm and peace associated with the Dahlia, and they are good specimens.

Anemone

Stock in the background, dwarf marigolds in centre, wallflowers right centre and bajri in the front.

Stock

Cosmos

Dimorphotheca - Star of the Veldt

Antirrhinum - Snapdragon, Dogflower

Chinese Aster

Gladiolus - Swordflower

Primula

January Bloom Day

2008-01-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

We have had a cold January, plenty of ground frost in the mornings. Nevertheless, Gladioli are finally on full show. The Heartease (Pansies) have broken into a myriad of quite amazing colors and the Primrose (Primula) is also rewarding its dose of TLC.

Primula (Primrose)

Gladiolus

Heartease (Pansie)

Lots of varieties are beginning to develop their first buds of spring and will come out next month. I have my first Anemone of the season

Poppies (Shirley) are also beginning their lovely scarlet blooms

Gazania

Antirrhinum (Snapdragon)

Dimorphotheca

Sweet Pea

Phlox

Violets

Anchusa

Acroclinium

Wallflower

Nasturtium

Verbena

Lineria
Gerbera

December Bloom Day

2008-01-31T07:45:00.001-08:00

December is a considerably quiet month here, as winter sets in. One definite exception is the Begonia tree, which gets clusters of pale pink flowers, much like hydrangeas...

Plant of the Month - Begonia

Geraniums - My favorite Plant

Gladioli are Just Starting to Bloom some of the Peach ones are out

White ones are just about distinguishable as they are beginning to break through their buds.

Chrysanthemums are still giving endless blooms. Notice the heavy growth of suckers at the base of the pots; these will be planted in seperate beds in about 2 weeks time for next season.

Novembor Bloom Day

2007-12-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Chrysanthemums are special flowers, they herald the beggining of a new flower season with their amazing variety of non stop florist blooms. I got after mine on the first of August and planted cuttings with the help of a growth aid (rootex) three a piece into pots. Gave them plenty of liquid manure and one moderate sprinkling of NPK fertilizer. The trick to these guys is plenty of water and sun; and lots of doses of mild liquid manure. I think my 200 pots make a grand statement

Chrysanthemum
On top are single yellow, in the middle a mix of single yellows and single purples. At the bottom are my favorite, yellow buttons. All put together in a three step pot holder.

Spider variety, in a flesh coloured flower

See the size of this snowdrop? thats my hand below it, move over dahlias here come the giant snowdrop chrysanthemums, flesh coloured flowers with red insides.

Marigolds (featured last month as well)

Cockscomb
Finally they are blooming, despite their shortcomings they have some awesome flowers

Dwarf Varieties

Dianthus

Petunia

Candytuft

Wax Begonias

Poinsettia (Magic Lace)

October Bloom Day

2007-12-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

This is my October Bloom Day... Took the flicks but couldn't upload them up to now because of a poor internet connection where this garden is located.. anyways its the documentation that counts.
October is a month when there are few flowers, most of the summer varieties tapering off and the winter ones still at seedling stage. The exception to this are a few african varieties and mainly Marigold. Coming in lots of varieties they gladden the eye with a mass of amber-orange hues. The best way to describe the garden in this month is as a Garden of Pleasing Fragrance as the jasmine family is getting active. Especially the Cestrum Nocturnum ('raat ki raani'), and the Cestrum Diurnum; looking at these hedges one is struck by wonder as to the number of flowers per square foot in these plants.
I start with the flowering annuals and these are followed by the permanent hedges.

Marigold (Tagetes)

The fence in the picture is to keep my dog out of this flowerbed

Vinca (Madagascar Periwinkle)

More white and scarlet (new color) for this flower bed next year for sure

Colocasia (Dwarf Cockscomb)

this balsam variety has been pretty irritating. Especially the taller one, still to come into bloom. The dwarf one though is very pretty and compact, will plant more next year. Also will sow the seed earlier next time around.

Petunia

Permanent Plants

Nothing is as pleasing as a flowering Plumbagoe hedge

Jasmine not only perfumes the air, but also adds to visual effect with those pleasing white blossoms

Lantana bloom freely in October, one of the few varieties which do

Cestrum Diurnum perfumes the air with an almost overpowering sweet fragrance, which emanates from its hundreds of corymb like white flowers

Arenium (Desert Rose)

Note the peculiar shape of the stem, like a pot belly.

Hibiscus (Pink Double Variety)

2007-12-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

Marigold (Tagetes)

The first seasonal flowers of the colder season are very easy of habit and with a little care, they give plenty of healthy flowers in lovely yellow/ orange hues which begin to bud come October. They also perfume the air specially as the mercury begins to dip with a refreshing sweet smell.

September Bloom Day

2007-09-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Bloom Day – September

Rains are finally over, though just to surprise us there were a few showers early morning. September is here and the lower temperatures have thrown up some nice flowers this day. Let us start with the plant of the month… In my garden right now it is definitely Bougainvillea. This creeper has burst into various colours over the last couple of days

Reddish- Orange Looks Beautiful in the evenings

The Natural Way is to make it climb a tree…

Whatever its drawbacks it certainly makes a grand appearance when blooming.

Annual plants at this time are in short supply, I have four varieties going today these are Portulacas, Periwinkles, Coxcomb and Cosmos (almost finished though). Of these my favourite is the Portulaca Grandiflora, they look like the stained glass of a church window when in bloom. Keep them in a shady flower bed so that they bloom till late afternoons, (flicks I took are at five in the evening) otherwise they are very shy and in direct sunlight shut at about 11:00 AM.

Portulaca Grandiflora

We also have some Indigenous varieties, this is the brilliant purple

There are some indigenous varieties of portulaca which can be reared as perennials these are extremely hardy and to increase their number, you can take root cuttings. When the time comes for winter annuals, transplant them under a tree and they will go till next year. Also these can be propagated from seed, the way I do it, since winter flowers are prettier in my opinion and I lack space for portulacas.

Lovely Colour Isn’t it?

And there is a white one too; this one is a double variety and texture of flowers is like paper

Periwinkles or ‘Sada Bahaar’ are available in Purple and White

Best part is that they are still growing and will reach full potential next month

A picture of the young plants in the flower bed…

And there are also a few Cosmos around though these are the last few of the season…

Coxcombs, a variety of Balsam like Periwinkles are still very young, though a few are peeking through. An unrewarding plant; keep manicuring to keep them looking good as they have a tendency to grow crooked.

Flowers though are worth the effort…

These annuals don’t flower but a good garden has to have them, I had originally planted these Cochias as a background and had Xinnias in front but even now they look very dignified in my opinion…

Perennials on the other hand have more variety, this lantana like bush which I have called ‘fire bush’ since I do not know its botanical name is my favourite due to its brilliant flowers

Some flowers can create a fire as well…

Plumbagoes are delightful and form a lovely hedge…

Lantana is also in full bloom…

I am currently rearing two new varieties in my nursery they are Musanda and Ixorra. I just got them about two months ago and will keep them in pots for the first year well protected. A routine I have to follow because young plants die in the arid semi desert air of my garden. Anyhows with patience and lots of Tender Loving Care these next two specimens would have multiplied manifold by next year.

Young but promising, A white Musanda plant in bloom

Some old Raj-Era Englishmen say that this is the king of the Indian garden the Ixorra

And Finally Roses are coming out in a good size…

This one is a Blood Scarlet, delicious.

I need an ID on this dwarf variety, it grows along the ground and likes warm weather. Flowers all through the year in the warm months, quite a nice green cover does a lot for the garden during those dry summer months when very little else remains green.

Another plant I am multiplying at an astounding rate is the chlorodendrun bush. A very versatile plant this, it makes a lovely hedge and also can be made to climb walls. Also gives out white flowers which make a pretty shape against the lovely green foliage of the plant.

Night Jasmine spices up those evenings with a lovely fragrance at night

“Raat Ki Raani”

I also have two creepers in Bloom, one of them is Joohee or the Climbing Jasmine. One of the best Indian plants, it gives out lovely fragrant white flowers and the stems form lovely wooden barks giving it the appearance of a Bonsai tree. The other one I need an ID on, it is also a lovely creeper, but it cannot take the summer heat in my garden, so am growing it up in the nursery and will probably have to be creative to keep it alive in the summer.

Climbing Jasmine, known as ‘Joohee’ in Hindi, is a must have in any Indian house

This one is a bit delicate but worth looking after because of its lovely flowers

Lastly there are the permanent plants and trees, a couple of these are blooming currently. The Kikar is discussed here as it is a native tree of my area, at this time of the year it sheds its ugly thorny appearance and gets quite lovely in a coating of golden yellow flowers. It attracts lots of squirrels, who gorge themselves on the flowers.

Even a Kikar can be beautiful at the right time of the year

The true King of my Garden, the Gardenia tree has lovely flowers and they are so fragrant, that I can smell their lovely scent distinctly sitting in my room in the evenings.

Citrus give lovely fragrant blooms and sour Vitamin C rich fruits, these grow well in my area

Though they were in full bloom last month, the Lagustronia tree still has some of its vivid pinkish – purple flowers. This is another classical Indian tree.

Banana flowers are underrated in my opinion they are big and ornamental, the tree is a great asset to the garden during the dry summer months.

This is an ancient tree/ Shrub in my garden I need it identified though; some very pretty red flowers

Here is the whole shrub to better assist the viewer in identifying it.

The lovely fragrant blooms of the temple tree, which adorns my inner courtyard

China grass is ornamental due to its foliage, but it has sometimes has interesting white blooms too

Welcome to a new beginning

2007-09-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

Hi im an interested gardener hailing from Punjab on the Indo- Pakistan border. The lawns discussed in this forum are in a semi-arid environment as it is located about a hundred kilometres from the Great Indian Thar Desert. On the flip side the soil is a fertile aluvial loam, it creates quite an adventure and one with a gradual learning curve. I have inherited this garden from my mother, so my job is that much easier as it has had plenty of tender loving care. Irrigation is by canal water drawn from the Sutlej river. For staff I have one regular 'maalee' and two rather irregular helpers. In this forum i would like to share as much info as possible, regarding plant identification, pest control and any helpful tips. From my side I will keep publishing different interests related to the garden and also have a regular bloom day feature when i take my mobile and capture some blooms in the right earnest hopefully. Cheers, let us improve together and embrace the information age.

Welcome to a new beginning

2007-09-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hi im an interested gardner hailing from Punjab on the Indo- Pakistan border. The lawns discussed in this forum are in a semi-arid environment as it is located about a hundred kilometres from the Great Indian Thar Desert. On the flip side the soil is a fertile aluvial loam, it creates quite an adventure and one with a gradual learning curve. I have inherited this garden herdetarily, so my job is that much easier. Irrigation is by canal water drawn from the Sutlej river. In this forum i would like to share as much info as possible, regarding plant identification, pest control and any helpful tips. From my side I will keep publishing different interests related to the garden and also have a regular bloom day feature when i take my mobile and capture some blooms in the right earnest hopefully. Cheers, let us improve together and improve the information age.