Bringing in some permanents

As we get better at looking after our plants (and not killing them within 3 days of bringing them home), we bought some plants that are evergreen. Since the wicking bed was empty (yet again), we got plants suitable for that. This time, we tried yet another new nursery called Anand nursery in Gandhinagar. It was the best! Great collection, helpful staff and a complete solution in terms of plants, pots, stones, gardening equipment and fertiliser.

Summer plants and others

A summer collection is incomplete without a Hibiscus. These flowers are bold and the leaves are even bigger! They come in very nice colours, red being the most common. But we decided to go for a yellow one with a red centre.

Hibiscus

To tie our Ahmedabad garden back to our Melbourne one, we included a Kalanchoe in this collection. They are very popular here actually and they come in many different colours. I don't remember seeing so many colours in Melbourne, nor do I remember them flowering so profusely.

Kalanchoe

Another plant common to our Melbourne garden is the Carnation. These Carnations are not as large as the ones we had in Melbourne, but they have more character to them because of the double colour.  They look very dainty.

Carnation

Here's an interesting plant we picked up. It's a Jade plant (Portulacaria Afra Variegata), but double coloured too!

Jade plant

This plant is not much to look at in the picture, but it's dark coloured leaves are lovely. The lady at the nursery said that it flowers too. The pot had two of them, so we put one at both ends.

Alternanthera

And finally, we bought another marigold. This is our second, let's hope it lasts!

Yellow Marigold

We also bought a tree. It's called Tabebuia. It's growing near the society's swimming pool also, but that one has pink flowers. Ours has a white flower with a yellow centre. It's quite leafy and is filling up the balcony space well.

Tabebuia

White flower Tabebuia

We also bought a type of Kamini Jasmine for our terrace. It will be placed just outside our window, so that the fragrance comes in through the window. It has very tiny flowers and quite a subtle orangey smell! I guess when it's covered with flowers, the smell will be more obvious.

Kamini Jasmine

Jasmine flower

We also got a free Mogra Jasmine when I ordered plants from there. This one is not as bushy as the Kamini Jasmine, but flowers are bigger and more aromatic. It struggled a bit in the heat to start with, but picked up with regular watering. I have attached a jute thread to the railing for this one to climb on.

Mogra Jasmine

Summer progress

We are well and truly into summer now. All the plants suddenly start growing at a ferocious pace!

The vegetable patch is not much to talk about. The Lettuce saplings have started to give us leaves. I hope to harvest many before it becomes too hot.

Lettuce

I mentioned in a previous post about using Tibouchina pruning as stakes for Peas. The Peas did not survive, but just look at how well the Tibouchina has settled in! Their flowers will look lovely in the vegetable patch.

Tibouchina

I caught a glimpse of a Broccoli on one day. The next morning the plant was destroyed.

Broccoli

The Virginian stock are looking lovely! I now know what a field of flowers looks like. I see lots of bees hovering, so hopefully that is great news for the fruit flowers.

Virginian Stock

Speaking of which, the Pomegranate had a million flowers this spring. Some even dropped their petals and went on to pretend that they would become fruits. But, day by day, I see them falling. We will be lucky to get even one this season.

Pomegranate

However, the Guava is showing potential with eight buds. The tree is still quite short, only 4 feet tall. Fingers crossed!

Guava

Last year, the Kalanchoe flowered quite beautifully. This year too, the flame red flowers look so fantastic!

Kalanchoe

A few plants to look forward to are the herbs in the vertical planter. The Basil is well settled now and the leaves should be ready to be plucked soon. We have already started to harvest the Chives, Rosemary and Mint.

Basil

Chives

Lastly, I am so excited with the flower developing on the Cactus!

Cactus

Water wise planting

Succulents are nature's gift to lazy gardeners! They need little or no water. They thrive in hot and dry spots. They are so easy to propagate - cut and plant!

We had such an unloved spot at the back of the house. It is a sunny spot but the neighbour's trees don't allow a single drop of rain to reach the soil. It was the perfect spot for us to try out a new species of plants called Succulents. Succulents are quite attractive and come in great variety.

Echeveria Elegans 'Mexican Snowball' had a nice rosette of pale green fleshy leaves. The leaves were rounded at the edges. It also has a a tall pink stem growing out of the rosette which has a flower at the end. Unfortunately, that flower died all too soon.

Echeveria

Aeonium Schwarzkopf is a maroon coloured succulent with leaves arranged in a rosette on a taller stem. These leaves were much thinner than the other succulents and the stem was much taller too.

Sempervium are the most organised looking succulents to my mind! They are perfectly symmetrical and have layers of fleshy leaves. Their leaves are pointed at the end so they look more formal than the Echeveria. And it started sending out 'pups', or new shoots, very soon!

Sempervium 1

Sempervium 2

Sedum Jelly Bean had fleshy beans on a stem, with a tinge of red at the tip of the bean.

Jelly Bean

Crassula Surprise Party is a hairy bluish green succulent.

Crassula Surprise Party

Crassula Gollum is very interesting to look at! It has green fingers that resemble an underwater plant.

Gollum

Mesembryanthemum White Pig Face has an interesting name, but I am not sure why it is called 'Pig Face'. The plant has spikey, fleshy leaves and has equally spikey flowers.

Actinotus helianthi Starbright looks like the whole plant has been made by velvet cloth! The leaves look unreal and are shaped perfectly. The flower is the same colour as the rest of the plant and also feels like velvet.

Starbright

Kalanchoe is a difficult to pronounce succulent! We ended up confusing one of the younger staff at the nursery when we asked for this plant. It has round fleshy leaves and very compact flowers that grow in a bunch.

Kalanchoe

Our succulent planting area is not fully setup yet. Their hardy nature and ability to withstand anything has made us a bit complacent in finding them a settled spot in the garden bed.