Garden geek nominated in National Blog Awards

It is a pleasure for my blog Garden Geek be be nominated for category of "Best Photo Blog" in Pakistan's First National Blog awards. Although my blog is not specifically a photo blog, there was no category related to gardening or environment so i went for nearest category that is best photo blog. I did ask the organizers of Google Pakistan and CIO pakistan to have a category for gardening and environment but no avail yet. Probably they know mine would be the only blog in the category :P

When i competed for Blotanical awards 2009 for Best Container gardening blog i was not even sure i would be in top five but thanks to your support, i was number 5. I hope my blog will be among best chosen in photo blog category in my country's national blog awards.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!! 3 Steps Only:

1. Click the Blogger Awards banner below
2. Rate my blog by clicking the number of stars for the voting (5 Stars means the highest, 1 Star is the Lowest)
3. Write a small comment on the same page where you will rate us about Garden Geek. Even a word should be more than enough! =)

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.

Best of 2009

I started this blog in August 2009 and i did not know it would go so far. Although my series of flowering bulbs for warm climates is still going and another series of spring blooming plants for lahore/karachi is underway, lets take a look at best shots from year 2009. i hope you will like it.

Growing Flowering bulbs in warm climates - Oriental lily

This is the 5th article in the series. There are many varieties of lily available in lahore in fall. Few of them are as follows:

1- Easter Lily - lilium longiflorum- White fragrant flower. Very costly. A 14 inches pot costs more than 250 Rs. It dies in lahore summers. Blooms in Spring
2- Tiger lily - yet to see it in lahore
3- Amaryllis lily - will discuss in next article. The local one costs around 50 Rs while imported is around 300-500 Rupees depending upon bulb size. Normally the holland bulb is Rs 500 which is very large.
4- Asiatic lily - non scented trumpet flowers. Dies in lahore summers
5- Oriental lily - fragrant trumpet flowers. Dies in summer as soon as temp. hits 40c. Price of each bulb was 60Rs per bulb.
6- Regal lily - Lilium regale - Not available in lahore. The easiest to raise from seeds. Very fragrant flowers. Also called christmas lily


And Oriental lily is the one i am going to grow in this article. They came in three colors this year. White, pink and red. Here goes on growing instructions:

1- Choose biggest bulb. They come with roots and some of foliage already sprouting.
















2- Bury the bulb in a well drained soil having compost. Bury whole bulb under soil and not more. It will grow right upwards.
3- Water it well and then do not water until you see progress above ground. Water as less as possible afterwards.
4- Give it semi shade in lahore although they enjoy full sun. Try to plant them in groups. They will look very pretty in groups.

This is the growth after 2 week of planting.
















5- And this is the progress after around 1.5 months.






















6- One bulb will produce around 3-7 flowers. Give it a little liquid fertilizer when buds appear.
7- You can not save them for next year in warm climates like lahore and karachi. So buy fresh ones next year.

Next bulb: Freesia