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.

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