Flowers in Vacant Plots

The yellow cosmos occupies any vacant land it finds and blooms profusely.

The tiny flowers of the Scarlet Morning Glory, Ipomea hederifolia make a bold statement in a vacant site.

The dainty pink flowers of the Salvia attract bees.

I have been seeing these almost black wild flowers since ten years at a particular spot in my suburb. All my efforts at getting a seed to germinate in my garden have failed. I can't find the name of these pea- like wild flowers. Yesterday I saw people taking measurements of the vacant site. Soon, this flower will be lost .

Jasmine of the Sky- Millingtonia

Millingtonia hortensis, or the Jasmine of the Sky as it is called locally is also known as the Indian Cork tree. It is planted as road side tree and also as a garden tree. The trees are in full bloom now,adding a delightful, mild fragrance to the surroundings. The tree is handsome, tall and straight, with a grey bark. It flowers twice a year, once in March- April, and once in September-October. The flowers are white and star- shaped, with four petals. The flowers open in the night and fall down in the morning, carpetting the ground beneath with fragrant stars. Children weave garlands from the fallen flowers, without using thread. The tree gives a kind of cork.
The tree is said to live upto 80 years. There are a couple of old and handsome trees in my ancestral home in Mysore, which are, I am sure, more than 80 year old. The Indian hornbills have made their homes in those trees.

Millingtonia has an ancient story attached to it. There was beautiful princess named Prajakta, who fell in love with the Sun. She was disconsolate when the Sun left her in the evening , and she committed suicide She was reborn as the Jasmine of the Sky tree. She still sheds tears when she sees her lover.The tree flowers during the night and sheds her flower- tears as soon as the sun comes up.

The leaves of the Millingtonia are a good insecticide. The roots and bark are used in the Indian medicine system, Ayurveda, for the treatment of Asthma.

Chrysanthemum beginnings

The much awaited 'mums have started blooming in my garden. This year , because of the untimely and heavy rains, the buds are not as many.

The nurseryman called this 'Happy Diwali' and also 'Starlight'. He probably gave it the name himself.

These little ones look like daisies and attract most butterflies.

These blooms seem to be the favourite food of the leaf hopper.

A Happy Diwali to all my Indian friends!

Lemon, the Old Favourite

No other fruit of India is as well known as the lemon, Citrus limon. Even the mango pales before it in the praises it has received. In the 5th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Theophrastus declared that the lemon was an antidote to poinoning. If you cut a lemon , the whole room smells delightful for hours. No wonder the peel of the lemon is used in making perfumes. The lemon was used to prevent scurvy among sailors in the 16th century, as the fruit is rich in vitamin C. The lemon and its leaves are used in Ayurveda, the Indian medicine system.
My lemon tree which used to give me hundreds of fruit is now attacked by stem- borers. Being an organic gardener, I tried plugging the holes with garlic , but to no avail.

A Tribute to Darwin, the Genius of Evolution

2009 is the year that marks the bicentennary of Charles Darwin's birth. It is also the 150th anniversary of Darwin's path- breaking work, 'On the Origin of Species'. Darwin changed the thinking pattern of the 19th century scientists by his theory of Evolution through Natural Selection. My post today is a tribute to this great man.
Evolution through camouflage is seen very often by the gardener. The mynah bird has come to my pocket pond in search of water and food. But the food escaped its notice.

The tiny frogs are the colour of the rocks around to escape from their predators. Survival!

The Danaid Eggfly is a slow flying butterfly. It also takes rest for long spells on its favourite flowers. But it has nothing to fear, because its spots mislead the frogs and birds into thinking it is an animal.The spots look like the eyes and markings on a kitten.

This beetle on the croton escapes its natural predators as well as the most intelligent animal on the planet, namely human being, by taking on the colours of the leaves it lives on.

Creatures resort to camouflage not only to escape predators, but also to hunt for food. This waiting spider on the dahlia has become almost transparent . It catches the unwary butterfly which lands on the dahlia. I do have a picture where the spider is enjoying his dinner of a butterfly, but I feel squeemish to look at it. But that is Evolution!

The Singing Tree

This Bootlebrush Tree which is planted as a roadside treein my area, is in full bloom now. It is full of birds at all times of the day so that the people call it the singing tree.

Callistemon is a native of Australia. In India it blooms profusely in spring and in autumn. The name Callistemon comes from the Greek kalos, "beautiful", and stemon meaning "stamens".The inflorescence have such long stamens , which give it the appearance of a bottlebrush.

Callistemon is a very useful plant for a dry , sunny area, as it requires hardly any care.

It can be propagated by cuttings during the rainy season.

Flame Coloured Wild Flowers

Now that the cold is setting in, it is a welcome sight to see flowers with the colours of campfire. This wayside flower resembles the Shrimp plant.

The lantana comes in lovely combination of colours

The Fire Bush, Woodfordia fruticosa is common in the forests of the Western Ghats.

Butterflies flock to the Blood Flower, Asclepia currasavica.