Wildlife Wednesday

Now that the corn I have planted in my vegetable patch is filling up, I have started getting these
Roseringed parakeets as constant visitors. The male of the species has a red ring around its neck. This visitor was female, and she screeched for 20 minutes, sitting on the custard apple tree. She had already gobbled up the last of my custard apples.
Although Roseringed parakeets are pretty to look, they are real pests. Flocks of these parakeets swoop down on farmland and cause immense damage to the farmers. They can be trained to say a few words and do some tricks .

There was another visitor in the dusk. You can see him if you click on the picture above. He is a Mongoose. These are fearless creatures, who can fight with a cobra and kill it. Unfortunately, the mongoose is becoming rare because the meat of the mongoose is prized for it supposedly 'viagra qualities'. The next day, a man from the village did come and ask my neighbour if a mongoose was seen in her garden. He wanted to catch it . She shouted at him and sent him on his business.

This butterfly is a rare visitor. I liked its markings. I could not find its name.

The Flowers of My World

The Sunset Bells, Chrysothemis pulchella is flowering in my garden now. It will go into hiding in a couple of months.

The Lobster Claw heliconia flowers last for two months.

The Cockscomb is aptly named. It is proud and cocky.

The Firespike Odontonema strictum has fiery flowers.

Spotted Heart Stictocardia tiliolia is so named because of its heart shaped leaves.

Thanks to the team of Show Your World.

Allan Armitage via Greenhouse Grower

Greenhouse Grower dot com has a page of Allan Armitage video clips online.
In each clip, Armitage talks about and shows a great new plant he is enthusiastic about.

Here's the link

http://greenhousegrower.com/ggtv/?vid=298

Why Did My Plant Die? by Charlesworth

Why Did My Plant Die?
By Geoffrey B. Charlesworth
from his book
The Opinionated Gardener- Random Offshoots from an Alpine Garden

You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.
You hoed it down. You weeded it.
You planted it the wrong way up.
You grew it in a yogurt cup
But you forgot to make a hole;
The soggy compost took its toll.
September storm. November drought.
It heaved in March, the roots popped out.
You watered it with herbicide.
You scattered bone meal far and wide.
Attracting local omnivores,
Who ate your plant and stayed for more.
You left it baking in the sun
While you departed at a run
To find a spade, perhaps a trowel,
Meanwhile the plant threw in the towel.
You planted it with crown too high;
The soil washed off, that explains why.
Too high pH. It hated lime.
Alas it needs a gentler clime.
You left the root ball wrapped in plastic.
You broke the roots. They're not elastic.
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.
You splashed the plant with mower oil.
You should do something to your soil.
Too rich. Too poor. Such wretched tilth.
Your soil is clay. Your soil is filth.
Your plant was eaten by a slug.
The growing point contained a bug.
These aphids are controlled by ants,
Who milk the juice, it kills the plants.
In early spring your garden’s mud.
You walked around! That's not much good.
With heat and light you hurried it.
You worried it. You buried it.
The poor plant missed the mountain air:
No heat, no summer muggs up there.
You overfed it 10-10-10.
Forgot to water it again.
You hit it sharply with the hose.
You used a can without a rose.
Perhaps you sprinkled from above.
You should have talked to it with love.
The nursery mailed it without roots.
You killed it with those gardening boots.
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.

Anne Pinc's Garden

This beautiful evergreen fern in Anne Pinc's garden is just one of the wonderful treats she shared with us.


Like many plant-smart people, Anne walks her garden spouting common and Latin names at the same rate of speed and no matter how many times I say "What?" I can't write them all down fast enough.

Two white kittens roam the gardens and even allow visitors to pet them.


This large foliage plant stands taller than a person behind the shade structure in the photo below. Chinese Rice Paper Plant seems to thrive here. I saw it all over Tulsa, too.


Look at this elegantly simple structure. It provides a haven for shade loving perennials and breaks up the path to the pool and greenhouses.


I saw bowtie vines at three Tulsa gardens last week. All 3 of them were from Bustani Plant Farm. Steve and Ruth Owens are getting the hot, new plants distributed to the best gardens.



And, Anne. What a wonderful, generous person.

Plant people are some of the best people we meet in this life.

Flowers for Shravan

This is the Indian month of Shravan when the monsoon rains are most active. Most of the plants are concentrating on growing, but some plants show their flowers now. The Hoya Carnosa with its scented waxy flowers is putting out garlands of flowers in my garden.

This curious Sanseveria which a friend gave me, has tubular leaves. The white flowers are highly scented, but only during the night!

The Golden Challice vine is in two minds- whether to grow more huge, or to display more of its huge flowers.

Surprisingly, this pelargonium flowered during the gloomy days, bringing some bright colour into the garden.

This Euphorbia has not stopped blooming since January.

The Jasmine plants are just concentrating on growing bigger. All the jasmine blooms used in temples, now comes from Tamil Nadu, which has rains in December.

This is my entry for Flowers for Today.

Weekend Reflections-Danger Lurks Within

This is a shot of Mumbai's Powai Lake, which I took in May . It looks so peaceful, but a hidden danger lurks within.The lake is the home of many fish, water birds , crocodiles and other aquatic animals. Fishermen come to the lake in the early morning, and row into the lake in their makeshift car-tyre canoes to fish. Yesterday I heard a shocking news. A young man who was fishing in a canoe suddenly shouted for help. In a scene reminiscent of 'Jaws', he was dragged down deep into the waters by a crocodile. Although his companions immediately rushed to his help, they could do nothing. His mangled, half eaten body was found later in the day, where the croc had hidden it.
You can see more entries for Weekend Reflections at http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com

Skywatch Friday

Every cloud has a silver lining.

My thanks to the skywatch team for hosting the meme.

Wildflowers for Wednesday

The 4 O'clock flower Mirabilia has colonised all the vacant plots in my suburb. The colours it comes are amazing. Sometimes the same plant shows pink and yellow flowers. It propagates itself by the black pepper like seeds, as well as by the tubers.

The Indigo Plant Indigofera tinctoria has pink flowers, though its leaves are used to obtain a blue dye. This plant is found on hillsides.

Another plant found on vacant plots is the Black-eyed Susan Thunberia alata. It is a vine, but not very invasive. It flowers profusely throughout the year.

You can see more wildflowers in the blog Clay and Limestone.

This is My World

THese are the gardens of the school where I teach. The trees were planted by the children .

Colourful bougainvilleas cascde dowm the rocks in summer.

Colourful crotons border the playground.

Doesn't the bougainvillea make a lovely contrast to the rock? Many thanks to My World team.

For more pictures from all over the world, please click on http://showyourworld.blogspot.com

Flowers for Today

Phlox are a great favourite among gardeners because they flower profusely, and make neat bedding plants.

These are called 'Star Phlox' here, since the flowers are star shaped.

I like the colour of these flowers.

Canna indica makes a great show if planted in a large bed in a big garden. All the flowers shown above are from Lalbagh Botanical Garden.

The tiny white flowers of this Singapore Holly have a nice scent. The plant makes a good bonsai creation.

You can see flowers from all over the world at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/ .

Weekend Reflections

The pond in my cousin's garden houses many colourful fishes. They keep the mosquitoes in check.

My little pond has tiny wild mosquito eating fish, as well as frogs. They eat all the mosquitoes and larvae they can get hold of.

The terracotta frog can't close his mouth, and so can't eat anything..ha ha.

For mor pictures, please visit http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com

Skywatch Friday

The sky through the corn.

The cobs are forming now in my corn.

This is the first time I planted some corn in my vegetable patch. The plants grow so tall so quickly- you can almost see them grow. I hope the squirrels and the parakeets alloow me to taste some corn when it is ready!
Happy Skywatch Friday! Thanks to the Skywatch team.

Watery Wednesday

Water birds in Karanji Lake in Mysore.

The fountain in the middle of the lake reminds me of Lake Geneva.

Thanks to Watery Wednesday.

Alwar, the Green City of Rajasthan

Although the desert state of Rajasthan is chronically short of water, the city of Alwar is always green. Successive Maharajas of this city have made use of the Aravali hills surrounding the city to store and harvest rain water. The man made lakes at the base of the hills are a delight to see . They have raised the ground water levels in the surrounding areas so that the farmers grow abundant crops and vegetables.

An ancient aqueduct built to transport water from the Siliser lake to the city still stands in mute testimony to the far sightedness of the erstwhile rulers.

The Maharaja had built a huntinglodge -cum- pleasure resort on Siliser lake, which is now a hotel. People throng there during weekends.

Farmers in Rajasthan still rely on their trusty camel to transport fodder and grain. The heavy stuff is transported by trucks.
To view life in different parts of the world, click on http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Flower Show

Every year the Lalbagh botanical gardens holds two flower shows- one during January and one during August. I like to visit the August flower show as there will be many begonias and tropicals to admire and to buy. This time, there were roses and orchids.

The Coxcomb comes in many jewel colours.

An arrangement of annuals.

This replica of the INdia Gate in Delhi was made using thousands of maroon and red rosebuds.You can see the flowers in front if you click on the picture.

Rudbeckias with their cheerful faces at the entrance of the public garden.

August GBBD- the Colours of Independence

Today is India's Independence day. Orange in the Indian flag signifies sacrifice.

These zinnias were blooming profusely in a public garden.

The orange heliconiums in my garden.

White is for purity.

Green is for harmony with nature.

Happy Independence Day to my Indian friends!

My thanks to Carol at Maydreams Garden for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.