Wild flowers of Punjab - Sodom apple, bindweed

This is Apple of sodom or calotrope with botanic name Calotropis procera is a wild flower of Punjab. It has succulent foliage and flowers in almost whole summer in open sun.


Bindweed with botanic name convolvulus arvensis. A very common weed in Punjab. A ground cover in full sun. Self sows. Foliage is different than that of morning glory.


Ipomoea nil chocolate. This is a type of Japanese morning glory with a color not very common. It is also called chocolate rose silk. These vines grow good in our extreme summer heat. I am growing more than 7 colors of morning glories this summer and will post pictures as soon as they flower.


This post is included in Garden bloggers bloom day, a gardening event on the 15th of every month at May Dreams Gardens

Growing Society garlic, Tulbaghia violacea in warm climates

There are not many bulbs capable of flowering in the summer heat of May and June in lahore. When temperatures are over 100F very few plants grow well. Society garlic, Tulbaghia violacea is one of these. From garlic/onion family, this south african bulb is very heat tolerant and a perennial in warm climates. It grows from a rhizome just like most onions and garlic do. Flowers are fragrant though some people do not consider the scent to be pleasant.

This is how the rhizome looks like.


The planting depth around 2 inches deep so that the shooting points are just above the soil. I plant whole rhizome into the soil leaving just the tips above. It flowers only after few months of planting.


It does go down in monsoon rains which shows that it does not like much water although drainage is good in my soil bed. It does not need protection in lahore winter and becomes dormant for a short while. It multiplies fast.

There is another tulbaghia which is tulbaghia fragrans, also a fragrant tulbaghia. It has same mauve flowers but flowers are little different. It also comes in white form. The name tulbaghia is derived from Tulbagh a town in south africa.

Love in a mist, dwarf morning glory, double daylily

It is early summer here in lahore but weather is still not hot because of recent rains. This is the reason most of spring annuals are lingering into the summer. Here are some of the flowers blooming in my small soil bed these days.
First is Dwarf morning glory, convolvulus tricolor is finally in bloom. I tried several times to grow it last year but could not succeed. This plant i sowed in November and it flowered after 5 months of sowing. Seed germinated very quickly. Plants are low growing and leggy. Must pinch them to have more shoots and more flowers. Flower is smaller as compared to tall morning glory but maybe because i let it flower too soon instead of establishing it a little further. Flower lasts a day only. Better grow it in masses.Cultivar is Royal ensign blue.



This is Nigella damascena, love in a mist. A close relative of Nigella sative a common herb with local name Kalwanji. Plant is leggy and needs support. It was a sow and forget plant. Just scattered the seeds on soil and that is it.


Double daylily is not a common sight in lahore. They are expensive and not easy to find. Only private collectors buy from abroad. This is a named one but not sure which one it is.


Last but not least, This pink aquilegia is blooming under the neem tree. It is obvious from the picture that plant is not in very good health. But what else can you grow under a neem tree? Some mildew or fungus affecting it. Very pretty macro though.


This post is included in macro monday. Do visit Lisa's Chaos for more macro shots.
Also visit http://blog.studiowaterstone.com/ for i heart macro.
My first time entry in weekly top shots, Do visit  Weekly Top Shot

Butterflies of Murree - Common four ring butterfly

Continuing the Butterflies of Pakistan series, the next few posts will be covering the butterflies of Murree hills including Nathia gali, Bhurban and pipeline track near donga gali. The first one to start with is Common four ring butterfly with botanic name Ypthima huebneri. It is found in  mostly Asia, including Burma, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Singapore.
This photo i took in Nathiagali main road near the bazar.

This butterfly is easy to capture and i also found it on the pipeline track near donga gali. Most of the times it is not found on flowers but just enjoying the full sun, gathering heat from the sun rays with its opened wings.