Gardening

Bird-of-Paradise Plant

The other common name of Bird-of-Paradise is Crane flower, and the botanical name is Strelitzia reginae

Hanging Heliconia

Another common name of Hanging Heliconia is Lobster claw and Parrot flower. The botanical name is Heliconia Rostrata and belongs…

Silk Cotton Tree – White Silk-Cotton Tree – Dudi Mara

In Bangalore there are many Silk Cotton Trees. It is interesting to observe the change the trees go through in…

Butterfly Pea Tree

The botanical name is Clitoria arborea and belongs to Fabaceae (Pea) family. Butterfly Pea Tree is native to Brazil, Bolivia,…

Talipot Palm

Talipot Palm is also known as Srithala, Indu Tree in Kannada, Alpayushi in Sanskrit, and Bajar-Battu in Hindi. The botanical…

African Lily

The other common name is Lily of the Nile. Botanical name is Agapanthus africanus and belongs to Amaryllidaceae family. African…

Cattleya Orchid

Cattleyas are extremely attractive because the lip, petals, and sepals have the same color. This makes the flower stand out…

Begonia

Begonia is a perennial flowering succulent herbal plant and belongs to Begoniaceae family. There are more than 1,800 species of…

Scented Geranium

Scented Geranium for some reason is known as Lavender leaves in South India and the beautiful leaves are extensively used…

Chinese Box Jasmine

Orange Jasmine, Orange jessamine, Chinese box, Mock orange, Mock lime, Satinwood or Lakeview Jasmine are the other common names of…

Everlasting Flowers

The first time I touched an Everlasting flower in Ooty few decades back, I was stunned at the texture and…

Golden Coreopsis

Other common names of Golden Coreopsis are Plains coreopsis, Golden Tickseed, and Garden Tickseed. The botanical name is Coreopsis tinctorial…

Coleus

Other common names of Coleus are Painted Nettle or Poor Man’s Croton. The botanical name is Plectranthus scutellarioides

Scarlet Morning Glory

Another common came of Scarlet Morning Glory is Scarlet Creeper, Red star, Mexican Morning Glory. It is known as Hale…

Dianthus

Dianthus is also known as China Pink, Indian Pink, Chinese pink, Rainbow Pink. The botanical name is Dianthus chinensis and…

Neelakurinji

I missed seeing Neelakurinji in bloom in 2006 and vowed to travel to the land of Neelakurinji flowers in 2018…

Indian Coleus

Other common names of Indian Coleus are Makandi, Patharchur, Pashan Bhedi in Hindi, Mainmula and Karmelo in Marathi. Botanical name…

Hydrangea

Botanical name of Hydrangea is Hydrangea macrophylla and belongs to Hydrangeaceae family. Hydrangea is a native of Japan and Korea.…

Clustered Summer Gentian

I was surprised and delighted when I spotted Clustered Summer Gentian in Wenlock Downs, Ooty. Surprised because I had read…

Purple Wreath

Other common names are Queen's Wreath, Sandpaper Vine. Botanical name is Petrea volubilis and belongs to Verbenaceae (Verbena) family.