Visit My Home Garden
Last Sunflower of my winter home garden
I feel most pleasure in doing my home garden. Most of the flowers of the winter or rainy season are herbaceous. I just want to share my experience in plantation of some my favorite winter seasonal flowers.
Flowers are the symbol of love, beauty and harmony. They form the sole of a home garden and convey the massage of nature to man. In India flowers are sanctified and are commonly used in worship in temples. Almost in all religious function and social ceremonies the use of flower is essential. Flowers also beautify the hair of a woman in all part of India. More over flower has some economic value also. The trade in perfumes has already been established and some flowers like rose and jasmine are commonly used for extraction of perfume. There is a huge domestic market for ornamental plants, seed and bulbs allover India. Beside, the seed and nursery business is also important and it is a source of income to many for their livinghood. These are some important knowledge about flowers.
Description and Photos of flowers of my garden
Bulbous flowers
1.Dahlia
The first choice of my garden is Dahlia. The origin of dahlia is Mexico and its family is Compositae.
The scientific name of Dahlia is Dahlia variabilis. Dahlia was named in honor of the Swedish botanist, Dr. Andres Dahl. It is a native of maxico from wher it was first introduced into Madrid in Spain in 1789. Later from Spain it went to England in 1798 and other European countries.
Dahlia is suitable for cut flower, pots, bed and annual and mixed borders. The seeds are sown in September in south Indian region and in December in north eastern India.
March and April are the flowering season. The tuber of dahlia can be cut from the stem with a sharp knife that has at least one eye to produce a new shoot. Dahlia need frequently and heavy watering instead of very frequently and light sprinkling.
2. Arctotis:
It is also known as African Daisy. It is a tall growing plant having small deep-cut grey-green leaves.
Another importance spices A. acaulis which is about 30-45 cm tall with long lobed leaves and the flowers are orange and yellow in color.
3. Marigold
Because of their ease in cultivation, wide adoptability to varying soil and climatic conditions, long duration of lowering and attractively colored flowers of excellent keeping quality, the marigolds have come one of the most popular flower in India. The marigolds are commonly grown in gardens both in the urban and the rural areas and cultivated commercially for use as cut flowers.
They are idle for garden display and cut flowers, particularly for garlands.
They can be successfully grown in the tops too and are used in mixed borders and beds.
The dwarf varieties, especially of the French marigolds, can be grown window boxes, hanging baskets rockeries as well as for edgings.
There are also idle for growing in a newly planted shrubbery to provide color and for planting in blank spot in the garden. The French Marigolds can also be grown effectively in drifts and along paths or a driveway.
4.Carnation
The ancestral species of carnation are natives of central and southern Europe. Its botanical name is dianthus. Dianthus is a Greek derivative meaning a divine flower. It has a long history of cultivation. According to Theophrastus, it was grown in the ancient gardens of Greece as early as 300 B.C. While in French in the early days it was used for medicinal purpose, the Mohammedans prepared scent from carnations. It was known to Shakespeare in England and was popular in America as well. The flower may be self-striped flaked and combinations of various fancy colors. During the middle of the nineteen century in the USA when the Scotsman Peter Fisher sold the first perpetual flowering variety to the copper King, T.W. Lawson for about 30,000 dollars which was named after him, it is created a sensation all over the world and become a popular Variety.
5.Cosmos
The plants are tall well branch and early-flowering with deeply cut feathery foliage and large daisy-like flower.
The flower may be pink, rose purple and crimson, lavender and white with a tufted yellow center.
The flowers are born on long wiry stems. It is also known as Mexican Aster.
6.Sunflower
The popular sunflower is tall-growing (1-3 m), coarse-looking with large rough-textured leaves bearing huge yellow flower-heads with a dark disc on stout and rough stems.
Among the tall-growing varieties, the single tall yellow including the mammoth with huge yellow flowers and tall double chrysanthemum flowered are most commonly grown in the garden. From a natural variation having chestnut-red marking on the ray petals which first appeared in California, red-colored variety, Suttan’s red was developed in England.
7.Petunia
Petunia is the most popular and attractive annual grown in the garden. The modern varieties are hybrids resulting from crosses between two species namely P. integrifolia and P. nyctaginiflora. The plant may be 20-30 cm high with trailing habit and small rounded and thick leaves. The flowers are trumpet-shaped and upto 15-28 cm cross at the top and attractively colored. The flower color may be white, rose, pink violet, yellow, crimson, salmon-rose, perple and some varieties and flowers are bicolored with star like patterns.
8.Butterfly flower
It is also known as poor man’s orchid. The origin of the flower is in Chile and Peru.
The plants are erect well branched attractive colored butterfly like or orchid-like blooms.
9.Chrysanthemum
It is the best winter seasonal flower. Chrysanthemum has some beautiful attractive small.
It blossom at the time of Christmas and that is why it is known as Chrysanthemum. The Japanese arrange Chrysanthemum festival every year as a national tradition. Chrysanthemums have undergone remarkable changes as a result of artificial crossing and selection in their native countries like china and Japan as well as England and French and the USA. There are more than thousands of varieties now in cultivation in different countries and more than 3000 variety are being grown in England garden alone.
10.Salvia
It is also known as Sage. These flowers increase the beauty of a garden round the year. It is a annual climbers.
11.Rose
Modern rose are derived from the Chinese rose and European rose.
One specie like R. moschata a wild climber popularly known as musk rose is also native of Himalayas.
As a result of the cross between the Chinese and European rose several kind of rouses such as bourbon, Portland, and noisettee, and better rose were produced and become popular in the garden.
The foundation of modern rose was laid in French at the end of the eighteen century.
Hybrid tea roses are some of the popular rose with lovely colors.
12.Canna
It is a native of South America and also known as Indian shot. The modern varieties of canna are hybrids derived from crosses between different species. There are several colors like yellow and red and the common species are native of east India. Canna is one of the best garden flowers suitable for growing in beds. The canna beds are generally located at the edge of lawn or in the lawn preferably against the background of hedge.
13.Cineraria
Cineraria are one of the best shade- loving plants. Different forms grown in the modern garden beautify the whole environment. The flowers are white, pink and bicolor. The plants flower during February and March. Since the plants take a long time bloom the sowing should be done early in September. These brilliantly colored flowers are borne in huge compact clusters or heads held well above the foliage.
14.Gladiolus
With it s majestic flow spikes having florets of massive form, brilliant colors attractive shapes varying size and excellent keeping quality, the gladiolus is ideal both for garden and floral decoration. It was brought in to cultivation from its native habitat in South Africa perhaps during the ancient Greek period. Its symmetric improvement began on the early years of the nineteen century after the discovery of the primulinus. It is undoubtedly it is the best bulbous flower in our country and ranks next only to tulip in Holland and other countries. It can be grown success fully both in the plain and hills up to an altitude of about 2400 m. The butterfly types have small spikes and flowers in varieties. The flowers may be large medium or small in size sometimes with ruffled petals, blotches or streaks.
15.Calendula
It is a winter seasonal flower and well known for it beautiful small. It is popularly known as pot Marigold.
The origin of this flower is south Europe. In England its petals were used in the early days for flavoring soups. They are also used for their medicinal properties.
