April Bloom Day

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

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