This Rex Begonia has ruby red leaves which shine like jewels in the sun.
The Selaginella is a shade loving plant which grows under my pomegranate tree.
The Swallowtail butterfly found a resting place on the fern.
The croton, with its many coloured leaves is a perennial favourite here.
The Alpinia has bright , variegated leaves.
When I see the riot of flowers in the gardens now, my heart is filled with gratitude to Mother Nature. The pink frilled Angels' Trumpets Brugmansia suaveolens in my garden are joy to see.
The Brazilian Red Cloak, Megaskepasma erythrochlamys has just started flowering. Soon, the whole bush will be covered with flowers.
The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Euphorbia leucocephala, is full of white bracts which look like snow flakes.
The native Snake Jasmine, Rhinacanthus masutris, is also flowering profusely now.
My Poinsettia is putting out a good show of bright red bracts.
Gardens all over the city are full of flowers now. Chrysanthemums of different hues are seen everywhere. These are some Pink Ravenia Ravenia spectabilis in my school garden.
Thunbergia grandiflora on a fence.
The Bougainvilleas are flowering their head off.
A Canna Indica in a neighbouring garden.
The Crimson Morning Glory Stictocardia tellifalia is also called Spotted Heart. The heart shaped leaves of this native climber have glandular spots, giving it the name. The latin name also means 'spotted heart'.
Mother Nature has her own ways of maintaining the balance. One of her intrepid warriors is this centipede. Although hounded by humans, the centipede does an efficient job in controlling the slugs and snails in the garden.
The baby African Snail is as voracious an eater as its parents. It has already decimated my spider lilies.
There are some plants , like the Golden Zebra plant Sanchezia speciosa which has found its own defence mechanisms. Two years ago when the African Snail infestation was at its height in my suburb, I feared for the Sanchezia, which was attacked day and night by monstrous snails. But I don't know what chemical it has manufactured now, it is no longer palatable to the snails.
The Heliconium is not so clever. Its leaves get eaten by the hiding snails during the night.
The Indian gooseberry, Amla, Phyllanthus embilica has flooded the market now. It is a small, green fruit, astringent and somewhat bitter to taste, but it is purported to have great rejuvenating qualities. All systems of Indian medicine make extensive use of the Amla. Jams, pickle and murabba is made from it, which are very popular. Chyavanprash, a spicy jam made from it using 100 medicinal herbs, is based on the Amla fruit.
The feathery leaved tree framed by the other trees is the Amla tree. There is an interesting story about the tree.
Pink is the colour of joy. The men wear pink turbans during a wedding in Punjab. This climbing rose which is climbing up my Amla tree has the faintest trace of pink.
Unlike its climbing cousin, this rose is full of joy, like a pink turban.
The pink Angels' Trumpets Brugmansia salveolens has started blooming again. The garden is full of its sweet scent in the night.
The Crown of Thorns, Euphorbia milii has a face blotched with pink. It is named after Euphorbus, who was the Greek physician of king Juba II of Numidia(Algeria) in the first century B.C. It was King Juba who discovered the plant.
Another shot of the brug when it opened in the night.
The mallow is a large family of plants destributed all over the world. They are more in the tropics. Different parts of the mallows are used as food, fodder and medicine. The yellow flowers of the okra shown above , result in the pods which are a general favourite as a side dish.
The pink mallow is a wild flower which has medicinal value.
The hibiscus too belongs to the Mallow or Malva family.
The leaves of this mallow are used in the kitchen. A tasty chutney can be made by grinding the leaves with green chillies , fenugreek seeds and jaggery.
I love blue flowers, which are not prevalent in this part of the planet. Now that the days are shorter, there are more blue flowers to be seen everywhere. These Blue Dawn flowers from a neighbour's garden has climbed over a roadside tree and flowering happily.
The Amazon Blue has started flowering again, bringing a sense of harmony.
The wild flower, Blue Convolvulus has not stopped flowering since summer.
Another wild flower, the blue Butterfly Pea is seen in all vacant lots.
A volunteer Jacquemontia, flowering in a vacant lot, its tiny flowers attracting bees in hoardes.
Suddenly there is an army of butterflies which have migrated here. Every year they migrate southwards during winter. There are so many in my garden fluttering wildly about , but I can take the pictures of only the slowest! The Common Crow Euploea core is visiting the Blue sage.
Last month, hordes of the Dark Blue Tiger, Tirumala septentrionis passed through the city, on their way to the Western Ghats. Some of them seem to have found this city good enough to break the journey here.
The Dark Blue Tiger's favourite is my Butterfly bush, Buddleija.
The Lime Butterfly Papilio demolius is an annual visitor here. Its favourite is the lemon bush, but it likes other flowers too. Here, it is visiting a Pentas.
This Blue mormon, Papilio polymnestor, poor thing, had a damaged wing. This swallowtail is big- the size of a man's palm. My camera was unable to catch its beautiful blue colour.
The tropical region has a great biodiversity, as it is blessed with warmth throughout the year. I feel grateful for all the colour we see all through the year. My Crucifix orchid is flaunting its flaming colours, making a sharp contrast with the Blue Sage.
TheRex Begonias have started putting forth their delicate flowers.
The purple Petria vine has also started blooming. In a few days, the whole vine will be covered with beautiful violet flowers.
The Heliconium 'Golden Rod' flowers throught the year.
The purple ground orchid is also preparing to bring forth more flowers.
This Blooming Fricay's topic is Winter Storage. What better than these bees who have started a honeycomb in my Amla tree? The beehive is the size of a Ping-pong ball at the moment. I hope it increases.
This plant in my school garden has put out tiny white flowers for the first time. The flowers have the fresh scent of oranges. Is it a Murraya? The leaves are thick.
The purple hibiscus has started flowering now. It is an old, native variety, which is not spectacular like the new hibiscuse flowers, but I like it.
The French marigold has no fuss. It flowers profusely whenever you plant it.
The Black-eyed Susan, Thunbergia alata is growing like a wild flower everywhere. It is a neat little vine, not invasive.
