Blue Blooms for Friday

I love blue flowers, maybe because they are comparatively rare in this part of the world. Now that the days are becoming shorter, the blue blooms are starting to come into their own. The flower shown above was given to me by my sister. It is flowering profusely now, and the dark blue blossoms contrast wonderfully with the almost black , glossy leaves. I think it is a crossandra, but a friend said that it is a barleria. What do you think?

This is anothe flower whose name I cannot find. The flowers are small and purple. No scent.

Who can forget the bright Forget-me-not Myosotis? A friend brought me some seeds from England, and it is flowering throughout the year.

The sky blue flowers of the Plumbago auriculata can be found in most of the parks here.

The Bengal Clock vine, Thunburgia grandiflora has large flowers which attract birds.

None of these flowers are scented.

Other Uses of Coconut

The coconut palm is in every garden in this part of the world. The South Indians use the coconut extensively in their cuisine. Gardeners are familiar with the cocopeat, which is used in stead of sphagnum moss. I have used the coconut shell as a container to grow this Little John Tassel Fern, Hupertzia.

The Donkey's Tail is also ensconced in a coconut shell since five years.

The Staghorn fern is growing in a full coconut which has now burst. I had kept it in the rain recently, and forgot to take it inside into my 'cold room'. The raindrops must have acted like lenses, and my poor staghorn got scorched.

The coconut plant sheds its enormous leaves when they are too old. My helper makes a broom with the spines of the leaves to use in the garden. These brooms are very helpful in sweeping fallen leaves.

Angel's Trumpets

The Angel's Trumpets, Brugmansia have started flowering in my garden. The large flowers have a heady scent in the night.

There is a pure white variety , a purple variety and a golden one. They are originally from tropical South America.

Although it is so beautiful, the whole plant is poisonous.

Migration of the Blue Tiger

I was travelling by the City bus the other day when I noticed a swarm of butterflies in the traffic. They were flitting in the polluted air of the City Market, alighting on the windshields and then flitting away.The people in the bus were fascinated by the butterflies. I could not take a picture of them as I did not carry my camera:-( Later I came to know by a newspaper report that these butterflies were on their annual migration.The Dark Blue Butterfly, Tirumala septentrionis migrates every year westwards. Bangalore happens to come on the way of its migration.It overwinters in the forests of the Western Ghats, and migrates back to the eastern coast in summer.

I saw them later in my garden and also in the enclosure of the Forest department near my house.

The Dark Blue Tiger is a somewhat slow butterfly. It is presumed that its slowness is due to the poisonous milkweeds it had consumed as a catterpillar.

Wild Grass

Last Saturday I went for a walk in the other part of the hill . I wanted to see if the pink grass shown so beautifully by Frances was still there growing wild. Unfortunately, all those areas are built up. But I did find something else- the golden heads of the Fountain Grass swaying in the breeze.

This wild Fountain grass Pennisetum setaceum has golden heads unlike its cousin P.rubrum, which has copper leaves and maroon heads. It is about 5 feet tall. The soil on the hill gets leached during the rains so that only grasses and some drought resistant palms grow wild there.

It was a beautiful experirnce for me seeing the wild grass swaying in the breeze. I wonder how long it will be there , considering the thirst for space in Bangalore.

Flowers for the Mahatma

Today is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. In honour of him, I have I have put up three flowers which depict the qualities he prized . The Tuberose Rajnigandha symbolizes Truth.

The Rose of Sharon symbolizes compassion.

The rose symbolizes Simplicity.

Butterflies in September

At last , I could take a picture of a butterfly in my garden! This is a Common Crow Euploea core on the flower. The butterflies in Bangalore seem to be faster than those I saw in the Western Ghats. The lage Blue Mormon visits my garden quite frequently, but I have never been able to photograph it here. It seemed so carefree in the jungle where it was flying slowly. It sat obligingly for a longer time on the bush, so I could get its picture.

The Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor in the jungle. The Blue Mormon is a large swallowtail.This is a male.

Another shot of the same beauty.

This Malabar Banded Swallowtail was posing so obligingly for us as we returned from the Cavala caves.