Murraya Magic

Murraya exotica is my favorite shrub. Its powerful fragrance fills the air and makes you enchanted with it. Growing in a large clay pot, its strongly perfumed flowers attract lots of bees and butterflies. Strangely, with the change of season, butterflies have also changed. I think previous ones just migrated to some more warm region. And the ones coming here are more cold tolerant. Here are some of the pics i captured of this pretty shrub and do i need to tell you that the fragrance made me not to move away for a long, pretty long time actually.

Antigonon,senecio confusus and butterflies in my garden

Jackie at Southern Post Journal inspired me to write this very first post on macro Monday. So here are some pics from my macro Monday collection

A butterfly on senecio confusus


















Clitoria - butterfly pea vine









She is meditating lonely????








Butterfly on antigonon leptopus bloom















Seedlings of annual flower mixture i got from chiltern seeds UK. Fall plantings are in full swing and i am have sown more than 200 seeds till now. Will reach 500 this week.






convolvulus tricolor royal ensign seedling, they along with datura metel ballerina are on top priority this fall.






For other beautiful Macro Monday posts, visit following:
Monday Macro 4: Apples
http://lisaschaos.com/
Macro - calamansi - Fruits

Canna,chandni, plumeria, lanatan and crinum in flower

It is still summer here and late summer blossoms are burst into bloom. October is harbinger of fall planting but still heat is not allowing to sow winter seeds. We are waiting for just one rain to subside the heat wave, Still no clouds. Lets us have a look at some flowers nature presents to us.

Crinum lily is a perennial here and a typical late summer bloomer. It is propagated by bulbs and they are buried till neck in the soil. Foliage is evergreen. It is slightly fragrant. It is known by its common name Milk and Wine lily.









White crinum is not common as compared to the pink one. I shot it at a roadside near my home.









Tabernaemontana with local name "Chandni" is also a beautiful perennial grown not only as house plant but growing wild in many areas. Unfortunately it is not fragrant. But i have heard there are some fragrant ones, not yet i have come across.










What a beautiful planter with vinca flowers. This is also planted outside a home not far away where i live.










Pink plumeria, locally called "Champa". Another local name is "Gul-e-Cheen". It is a fragrant bush/tree. Easily grown in pots. It does not tolerate frosts. I am growing it in a 12 inches clay pot and it does not hesitate blooming in 90F heat. A typical tropical plant. In june, i forgot to protect it from midday sun and got some of its leaves burnt. It comes in another color, white with yellow center. A must for a fragrant garden. Needs lots of water and fertilizer.










Wild sunflower. Lahore is full of these self sowing sunflowers. They need full sun to bloom. It is not cultivated as house plant. Drought tolerant as well. Another species "teddy bear" is grown as summer annual, which is dwarf one and grown as house plant.









Lantana camara is another tough perennial which blooms almost whole year except in winter months. Needs lots of root space, grows wild as well as house plant. Another species Lantana montevidensis (trailing lantana)
which is not very common is very attractive to butterflies and ideal for hanging baskets, bears blue flowers.










Hollyhock. Locally called "Gul-e-Khaira". Now i am surprised seeing this one blooming in full sun in summer. I always though it to be a spring annual. Well it is perennial in our climate, if protected from midday sun in summer and good drainage is provided in monsoon rains. We have yet to see the double variety here but this year we are hopeful the double variety will be available commercially. I have been gifted some seeds of double Apple Blossom from a fellow gardener in UK. Will try as soon as weather cools down.







This is interesting. I was hoping i got a natural biological control for these white insects but i was wrong. Being a strict organic gardener, i washed them away with water.








Canna, indian shot. This is one of another heat tolerant perennials in lahore. Also grows wild, while some dwarf species, not commons though, are grown in as house plants. I was gifted some mixed seeds of canna dominic republic and they have sprouted. Yet to see the blooms.



























Now i do not grow much veggies but i could not resist shooting this squash in the courtyard of my in laws. I have also given them seeds of lettuce iceberg this year. hope will grow good as well.

















This is some wild flower growing in our country side. Lovely blooms. Blooms whole summer.

Rose Garden at Liberty Market Lahore

First, i would like to congratulate this year's Blotanical 2009 awards winners, you guys really deserved it. I would also like to congratulate stuart for managing this wonderful event and providing us some opportunity to vote for some wonderful blog around the globe. And special thanks to those who voted for my blog, it was awesome to be in top five.

Now coming back to the post, i admit that i had no intention to do a post on roses specially in this season when they do not bloom at their best But i just carried away. I just happened to visit this rose garden at liberty market lahore and the fragrance and colors were just awesome. I mean how can you resists capturing these beauties anyway. Now if they can bloom as good as now in this heat of 90F then how cheerfully they will greet you in spring!!!!!

This is my first ever post on roses and i hope you will like it. This is one of my favorite rose gardens in lahore. Enjoy!!!!!!