Himalaya, the Abode of Snow

In Sanskrit, Himalaya means ' the abode of snow'. These rhododendrons shown above grow at a height of 11,000 feet. One can see glaciers as one walks along the path.
The snow was very wonderful for us from the tropics.

There were some wild flowers like these in the crevices of rocks.
It is soothing to remember the snow in the torrid heat of Mumbai!

Himalayan flowers

After an extremely 'cool' holiday in the Himalayas, I am spending the rest of my holidays in Mumbai with my daughter and her family. The rambler rose grew wild all over the lower slopes of the Himalayas.
The swift flowing River Beas near Manali.
Rhododendrons which grew on the lower slopes of the Himalayas were mostly red. The wild rhododendron flowers are gathered by the locals to make soothing drink.
Purple irises carpeted the slopes at Shoja.
An ancient fort at Kangra. You can see the snow capped peaks ot the Dauladhar range in the distance.

I could find very few wild flowers in the part of the Himalayas we visited. Perhaps the season was not right. But the beauty of the mountains was breath taking.

I'll be putting up more photos of the Himalayas in the coming posts.

Summer Holidays!

Summer holidays will start from Monday, and I am off to the Himalayas for a walking trip!The Crossandra shown above will not be seen in the cold climate there.

The Lantana is quite common in the plains as well as in the hills.

The bougainvillea is a favourite in the plains where it blooms profusely during the summer months.

The Jatropha has pretty blooms which are tiny.

Will be back after a month! Have a blooming month!

Cool Blues

Temperatures nearing 100F, one longs to see some cool colours in the garden. The blue Butterfly Pea in partial shade looks cool.

The tiny blue flowers of the Jacquemontia violacea are a welcome sight in the hot afternoons.

The sky blue Plumbago is flowering profusely all over the place.

Blue Angelonia massed in a garden in Coorg.

The blue hydrangea has always been my favourite, though these are from a garden in Coorg.

The last two photos from Coorg were taken by my friend Viji.

Butterflies in April

The Common Crow is a butterfly which is often seen in the gardens. It feeds on poisonous milkweeds as a catterpillar, and becomes poisonous itself! Birds don't seem to relish it.

This brown and white butterfly is not so common.

The Sergent butterfly has stripes reminding of the army sergent. This one had lost a part of its wing.

Last Blooming Friday

This is the last Blooming Friday. The Primula is one flower that I would love to have in my garden, but can't have because of the weather conditions. These primroses grow wild in the Himalayas.

These two photos above of the primulas were taken in Sikkim by Kushal Deb.

The Resurrection Lily comes back to life during Easter. This is from my own garden.

The Crucifix orchid has not stopped blooming the whole year!

I dedicate the Forget-me-nots Myosotis scorpiodes to Katarina of Roses and Stuff ,and thank her for hosting Blooming Friday all these months. I shall miss the posts. Thank you, Katarina!

April Phool

Phool means flower in Hindi. April is the month for the roadside trees to be filled with flowers in this region. The blue Jacaranda can be seen on many roads.

The Pink Trumpet tree, Tabebuia rosea is not so common.

The yellow Tabebuias are still blooming their hearts out.

At last we had rains and the weather has become cool and bracing.

Have a fun-filled April Fool's Day!