Clearwing humming bird in Lawrence gardens

Here i am again with another edition of macro monday. Because of my coverage with annual spring flower show (see below post) i could not take much macros but still those i got were worth posting.

This one was shot at lawrence garden lahore. I am not sure what it is but it seems to be a hummingbird moth. Though we do not have hummingbirds here but sunbirds. Lovely sight though.
update: This is some species of clearwing hummingbird moth.

 Stock is the most fragrant annual of spring. And bees love them too. This one shot at my terrace.

This bee seems to be too involved in california poppy. Again captured on my terrace.

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Sparaxis, Freesia, gazania in my garden

It is a pleasure to be part of another Booming friday hosted by Katarina at roses and stuff. There are lots of blooms in my garden, Spring at the peak. First comes this beautiful freesia. I planted lots of freesias this year as they are sure to bloom in our weather and adapt very well to our hot climate. I have never seen such lovely color before. And do i need to tell you the fragrance is just outstanding.

I also planted sparaxis bulbs but not all of them showed the blooms. This one did send up some awesome blossoms. A treat to watch if you have planted them in masses. Another warm climate bulb from south africa. so here goes the Harlequin Flower.

Here comes another heat tolerant dazzling bloomer, gazania. Even in this 90F temperature, they will endure drought. What a tough plant it is. And what a splash of colors they provide.

Pink ranunculus blooming in clay container. I grew them from the corms/tubers.

Dianthus and shirley poppy flowers

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blue petunia,oriental lily and tricolor daisy in my garden

Katarina at Roses and stuff hosts blooming friday every week, i am glad to be a part of it. Right now the spring is at peak in lahore and we are all waiting impatiently for the annual spring flower show although i did held in karachi but not in lahore yet. here goes some pictures from my garden and some from others i captured.

This is my first bee of spring i got in my terrace. She drank from almost every single flower blooming on my terrace including this iceland poppy.

This oriental lily i grew from bulb in winter and what a pretty flower it is. The fragrance fills my whole terrace. you can see my post on how did i grow it here

I love these pink petunias,  grew lots of them in pots. They are not as heat tolerant as gazanias or california poppies but beat them by the color range.

Can you believe that i am growing this tricolor chrysanthemum, painted daisy in raised beds? well i have very limited space and even there is a patch with no soil beneath, i make it a raised bed. .This one is only 1 feet deep and then it is all concrete. I hope they will survive our harsh summer heat. I have mulched them with leaf mold.

I love freesia for their toughness, ability to bloom in diverse conditions and of course the enchanting fragrance. of course i will do a separate post on them but here goes the one in my soil bed the yellow fragrant ones.

I love iceland poppies, they are have the most delicate flowers after aquilegia. this is one is neither orange nor pink nor white but some yellowish touch. a touch of elegance. growing in another raised bed too. It is just 6 inches soil above the cement slabs.

What about these blue petunias? they are happily blooming in the lawn of my office building the aiwan-e-iqbal complex. what a splendid view it is.

Layia platyglossa,iceland poppy and ranunculus flowering

Iceland poppies are my favorite as far as delicacy is concerned. We had few rains last week and weather was just superb, chilly to be precise. This made our spring last few week more.

 

Isn't  she loaded with pollen?

This ranunculus i grew from tubers/corms and what a wonderful display it is. There are 5 more buds coming and i will post separate on them.

  

Just love the color of this seed raised dahlia.

  

Tidy tips (Layia platyglossa) is a popular annual here.I love the bicolor flowers. Local name is desi gendi.

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Florist cineraria flowering

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Cineraria,crocus,dimorphotheca in my garden

I know i am late for this macro monday but never too late.

Crocus is not adaptable to lahore hot climate. I tried 3 bulbs this year but only one managed to bloom partially.

Dimorphotheca also comes in purple color but this one is just too good. They open their petals only with strong sunshine.

Calendulas come in very wide range. Very pretty blooms.

 

Cinararia or florist's cinararia are my favorites. They bloom in partial shade as well and come in so many colors it is just enchanting watching them bloom for a long long period. They surely need an exclusive post on them.

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Wordless Wednesday - Ice plant

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Buttercup oxalis,iceland poppy, calendula in my garden

Anemone which i grew from bulbs, this one is first bloomer.

Shirely poppies, more free flowering but less delicate then ice land ones
Iceland poppies, my favorite.
Calendula, they come in bi-colors too.
Oriental lily, very fragrant. The aroma fills the whole home not just room.
Nasturtiums
I love oxalis and bees love too. Very adaptable to our warm climate.
Bees love this dahlia
This one shot at Lawrence garden lahore, Pretty Gerbera daisy.
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Dahlia Delight

Dahlias are among the first ones to bloom along with cosmos this spring. There are mainly two types available. The single ones, grown from seed and double ones, grown from tubers. cuttings are also available for double ones at cheap price. Tubers were available at around Rs 100-150 each. Double flower is also called indian dahlia while single ones is locally called Pakistani dahlia.

I always prefer single ones not because they are cheap but because they attract lots of bees and butterflies because of their nectar power. There is also a sense of adventure in single ones as they are hybird with mixed parentage, no one knows which type of flower will be produced. Also, you may find more than one types of flowers on a single plant. They are also more adaptable to our conditions and are more heat tolerant than double ones.
All the below shots were taken from dahlias i grew from seedlings in containers on my terrace.