Evening primrose, climbing snapdragon and gardenia florida

Spring is coming to an end in Lahore and coming heat wave is having its toll on the spring flowers. On the other hand, the semi tropical perennial flowers are coming to their own. This year i grew many perennials from seed. Not common in lahore, i took they risk whether they will grow good in lahore or not. Some produced excellent results. Here are some of those:

Evening primrose, Oenothera pallida "innocence", seeds bought from Chilten seeds UK. Flowers are very fragrant citrus spice and bloom in mid day. They last few days. They are supposed to be a perennial plant in lahore and other hot climates. I hope they survive our hot summers and prove to have a permanent position in my fragrant garden.


Another rare climber i grew from seed and it flowered only after 8 months is, climbing snapdragon. This is asarina purpurea seeds from Sunshine seeds Germany. seeds are small but germination was good. It produces hundreds of buds on a small plant. I hope it will prove to be a perennial in my hot climate too.

This gardenia although not grown from seed but a very fragrant and prolific blooming gardenia florida i have. There are many cultivars of this common gardenia and this one seems to be "Heaven scent". Gardenias likes bright shade and not much direct sun light. They also need humid air and an acidic soil to thrive. Most healthy gardenias have green leaves.

Heliotropium arborescens and Hyacinth flowers

Heliotropium arborescens "marine" is a a very fragrant compact annual/perennial flower. Flowers cover the whole plant and vanilla fragrance is very strong. I bought seeds from chilterns seeds UK and sowed the seeds in October 2012 and it germinated in November 2012. It started flowering in March 2013. An annual in cold areas but tender perennial in warm climates like mine. Not sure how it will handle the extreme summer heat and monsoon humidity but the fragrance is really worth it. I will save seeds if it forms seeds.

Talking of fragrant flowers, Hyacinth is very fragrant spring bulb. It grows very good as annual in lahore. It is also successfully forced in special water jars. It is amazing that each color of hyacinth has unique fragrance. Sometimes hyacinth gives second flowering stalk too but that it not often. Hyacinth bulb is not worth saving for next year and must be bought again.


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