Poinsettias!

I think Poinsettias are instant mood uplifters. As I mentioned in a recent post, recently I bought some Poinsettias for my balcony and now my little balcony garden looks so cheerful with Chrysanthemums, Coleus and Poinsettias.
There are also some in a planter adjacent to my balcony.
Poinsettias(Euphorbia Pulcherrima) are native to Mexico and Central America. They are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first ambassador of US to Mexico, who introduced them to the USA in 1825. Poinsettias are the number one potted plant sold in the United States which is pretty amazing considering they are mainly sold during the Christmas holiday season. They are also called Christmas flower.

In their native habitat they grow as perennial flowering shrubs upto ten feet tall. Contrary to general belief they are not poisonous though their milky white sap can be irritating to people with sensitive skin.

The showy colored parts of poinsettias that most people think are the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves).In the middle of the colored bracts are the actual flowers. When you buy the Poinsettias be sure these are definitely still looking yellowish-green and unopened. It should look like they are just burgeoning. A fresh poinsettia is one on which little or no yellow pollen is showing on the flower clusters in the center of the bracts. Plants that have shed their pollen will also soon drop their colorful bracts.
Poinsettia plants are extremely brittle and should be handled with care to not snap branches. They should be placed in a bright area and kept on the dry side.
Another picture of Poinsettias on my balcony in 2009.

Ornamental foliage..time for a change!

All summer my garden and my balcony have been mostly devoid of flowers. My attempts at growing Sunflowers and Zinnias failed miserably. I needed to see some color and soon! So I went to a nursery and treated myself to some bright red Poinsettias and some brightly colored Coleus.

With foliage colored as brightly as that, who needs flowers?!

The Crysanthemums are peeping!

The Crysanthemums are beginning to bloom and I am getting to see the colors finally! Most of the cuttings were taken from my last years plants. Since I had not marked the cuttings I will only know the colors when they bloom. I think I should have a couple of more colors coming up soon! Count so far - Maroon, Plum, White and Yellow.

Amaryllis everywhere in my garden!

I love Lilies and this year I have been very lucky! Most of my Amaryllis pots are putting forth a beautiful show of blooms unlike last year when very few of the Amaryllis bulbs had flowered. After last years poor show I had just left the bulbs in their pots and done absolutely nothing. Despite that most of the bulbs have flowered and the blooms are bigger than ever before! I am so happy and proudly display them all over my house!
My balcony where I love to sip my morning cup of tea.

On the wall lining my garden.
As I never label my pots some blooms bring special joy-I didnt remember having this one below. Maybe its the first time this bulb flowered.

And the show goes on!
Another corner of my garden...
And the floral display in my planter outside which I love to change as often as I can!

A visit to the plant nursery

Recently I visited the Sunder Nagar Govt. nursery with a dear friend of mine. The nursery is spread in 60 acres and is located near Humayun's Tomb. They had the most beautiful crimson dwarf Cannas which we both just loved and bought. Their color was so striking that we were amazed. We also bought some herbs to plant-celery, parsley.Their foliage collection was beautiful and extensive- rows and rows of potted plants under huge trees. We spent a good hour just walking around and soaking in the beauty. Wish we had more time to explore coz it's spread in a huge area.