Monsoon is here!! Time to grow!!

Summers have ended and Monsoon has arrived. It's that time of the year when humidity is high and temperature is warm(but not hot). These conditions make it fairly easy to grow anything. Be it any plants from seed. Or any cutting from plants.

I have started sowing some of the seeds that I had saved last year. I prepared the growing medium myself.
It includes Coco peat, compost, Perlite, Vermiculite and garden soil. For containers I am using paper cups and old plastic tubs with holes punched in at the base.

Soaking the medium

My experience is that if the medium is well soaked, then I will get sprouts very early. This time I got Gazania, Petunia and Stock sprouts in about 3 days!

Gazania sprouts

Petunia seedlings

I'm gonna take care of these little seedlings for now. Hoping they grow on to produce beautiful flowers.
Will do an update when they are big enough to transplant.

Collecting Seeds - Gazania

Gazania is native of South Africa. They require full sun, are drought tolerant, do not require fertilization and very hardy. They produce large bright colored flowers from October till April(in Delhi NCR region). They are perfect for home gardens due to their low maintenance and brilliant flowers. You can plant them in containers or the ground as flower beds or boundaries.

Gazania comes in brilliant colors

If you have a Gazania plants this year and you want to have them next year, then just save some seeds and you can have many more plants at no cost(only a little effort).

Seed collection is easy. Snip off the flower heads when the petals start to shrivel. Let the flower heads to dry up by putting them in a paper envelope and placing it in a warm and well ventilated area. I generally place similar variety of flower heads in one envelope and label it. Within a few days the fluffy seed heads will start to burst out of the flower head. Save the seeds in a labelled paper envelope an place it in a cool dry place.

Flower head can be snipped off and placed in a paper envelope at this stage

If you let the flower head to completely dry up on the plant then the fluffy seeds will be blown away with the wind. Therefore it's important to snip them off and place them in a paper envelope before that.

Gazania Seeds ready to fly

Store the saved seeds in an envelope or glass jar placed in a cool dark place.

Brown-Headed Barbet

A pair of Brown-Headed Barbet has chosen to make our Subabul tree their home for the second year in a row. These birds are very difficult to spot in trees because of their Green plumage. But their distinctive call will let you know of their presence and someone with a keen eye will be able to catch a glimpse of the elusive bird. The pair is taking turns to make a hole in the tree trunk where they will hopefully lay eggs. They have been at it for more than three weeks and now the tree hole is big enough for the bird to slide into it.

Collecting Seeds - Pansy/Viola

Pansy and Viola are a good choice for winter gardens. Pansies are hybrids derived from Violas. Both Pansies and Violas look similar, they have some differences. Pansies have bigger blooms on a compact plant. Whereas Violas have smaller (but more) blooms on a bigger plant.

To save seeds for next Winter season stop deadheading spent blooms by Spring. This will allow the plant to produce seeds. The flower petals will fade and fall off to leave behind a green seed pod. At this point you may want to tie a fine net bag around the stem that holds the seed pod. The seed pod will turn brown and then bust open to scatter the seeds.

Store the seeds in a labelled paper bag/envelope.

Pansy Seed Pod after the petals have fallen

Seed pod bursts open to scatter the seeds

Collecting Seeds - Petunia

Petunia in Spring Season

 Well Summers are officially here. As temperature rises with the passing of each day, Winter/Spring flowers are dwindling away. It's a good time to collect seeds from spent blooms. I usually stop deadheading just before the end of Spring to allow production of seeds.

If you want free plants next season, you just need to put in a little bit of effort this season in collecting seeds. In the past I have had success in seed collection and producing plants with Petunia, Gazania, Marigold and Dianthus. This year I want to add a few more flowers to that list.

In this post I'm going to talk about Petunia seeds. Petunia seeds are very easy to collect. Allow the flower to dry up and fall off. After that the seed pod will turn from Green to Brown. As soon as the seed pod has turned brown snip it off and collect the seeds on a paper by gently pinching it in a twirling motion. Seeds are minute and Dark Brown/Black colored. You can get around 50 seeds from a single seed pod. Don't wait too long after the pod has turned Brown, else it will split open and disseminate the seeds.

Petunia Seed pods

Petunia Seeds

Once you have the seeds you can place them in a paper envelope or plastic bag, label it and store it in a cool dark place.

Collecting Seeds - Nemesia

 This is the first time that I had Nemesia in my Garden. In fact I saw this plant for the first time this year in a nursery and just had to buy it. It's short, dense and flowers profusely. The top area of the plant is completely filled with small flowers in Spring season.

I surely want Nemesia next year as well. So why not save some seeds and have a garden full of Nemesia next year. Seed collection can be a little tricky though. The seeds pods are very delicate when they turn brown and will easily split while pulling them. It's best to use a scissor to snip them off and then gently place them on a paper or container. Then separate the seeds from pods and then pour the seeds into a paper or plastic bag. Label it clearly and then place it in a cool dark place until you're ready to plant them.

Seed pods

Winter/Spring 2014 Terrace Flower Garden

Who doesn't love Winter and Spring time in Delhi. It's the time when you get some respite from the scorching heat of the summer and sweaty humidity of monsoon. Moreover one gets to enjoy the outdoors more rather than hiding in air-conditioned rooms.

Another thing which appeals me about these two seasons is the floral explosion in and around Delhi. Most of our winter flowers are known as Summer flowers in cooler regions. Delhi Winter temperature ranges from around 5 degree Celsius to 25 degree Celsius. There is no danger of frost usually as the temperature remains above 0. Winter is followed by pleasant Spring with temperature ranging between 20-25 degree Celsius. Both these seasons are favorable for growing a wide range of flowers such as Petunia, Pansies, Gazania, Dahlia, Aster and the list goes on.

I wanted to have a piece of floral action at my place, so I decided to have a small terrace garden. I had a few Gazania and Dianthus growing in pots which I had started from last year's saved seeds. Got a few more plants from the local nursery and put them all together in a marble kitchen sink which had been lying around without any use.

Then I got 3 cement planters and planted Petunia, Gazania and Aster(which I got really cheap in grow trays).

The above 4 pics were taken on 26th Nov '13.

And this is how it looked like after about a month(19th Dec '13)

Notice the small Aster plants flowering. I later read somewhere that if flowers appear too early they should be pinched to allow the plant to become strong. Which is probably what I should have done because my plants only produced a few flowers at a very short height and then withered away.

And finally in full bloom. This is how it looked like by Feb end.

For some reason Dahlias attracted monkeys and peacocks. So I lost quite a few flowers to them. Here are some of the Dahlias which were left.

Notice the Dahlias in vase. Those were really big ones. Must be around 8 inches if not more. I prefer to keep the flowers on the plant but due to a strong wind one night these 2 were left dangling. So I had to cut them and placed them in the vase where they stayed for good 2 weeks.

Here's a look at some more flowers from this season's garden.....

Habiscus

Kalanchoe

Marigold

Geranium

Lily

Ranunculus

Now as I am writing this blog it's almost end of Spring and beginning of Summer. So I'm in seed collection mode. Will also try to save Dahlia tubers - it's something that I have never tried before. Also have 2 lily bulbs that need to be taken care of to get bloom next year. More on these topics in my next blog.