Imagine

Your Channel No 5 perfume has it. Some of your expensive body massage oil also has it as well. It is a star ingredient in luxury and aromatic products. And therefore one of the most sought after flowers apart from Jasmine for its heady fragrance. It is called Ylang- Ylang. There are two varieties. This climbing Ylang-Ylang is called, Artabotrys hexapetalus. The other variety is Cananga Odorata which has similar type of fragrant flowers but is long stalked. This is a climbing vine that also has a shrubby look. The peduncle forms a hook that helps in climbing. The name “ylang-ylang” comes from the Tagalog term “ilang-ilang,” meaning “wilderness,” reflecting its natural habitat. Local names are beautiful for they describe the character of a flower. In Tamil it is called Manoranjitham meaning that which captivates the mind. It is beleieved that if you inhale the fragrance of the flower thinking of a fruit, you can smell the fruit. There are six green petals in the blooming stage which turn yellow as the flower fades making it even more aromatic. The flower is at its height of fragrance late in the evening and is pollinated by nocturnal moths and insects. A oval shaped fruit forms sometimes.

The Flower that flew into the Garden

This is the first thing I saw today morning when I stepped out into the garden. First I thought was it was a feather and wondered which bird that visits us has this colourful a quill. I bent down, looked closer, and picked it up to realise it was the petal of Bahunia flower that flew into the garden.

Fireball Lily

FireBall Lily

I met this flower the year when I was a bride to be. My mother-in-law had bought this bulbous plant from Lalbagh and it decorated our front yard.

This lily blooms exclusively in May, hence the name May flower. It is also the monsoon season in India, and also called, monsoon flower. It looks like a football, hence football Lily. It is red and therefore called as blood Lily. It has a toxic alkaloid and called the poison Lily.

With so many names, the the ball Lily stays bloomed for three to four days. The flowers are produced at the top of a stem. The ball contains nearly a hundred flowers. Once the flower wilts, the plant remains until the next season arrives. Sometimes the plant wilts and a new plant appears during the blooming season and then the flower appears. Since it is bulbous, it can propagated by removing the bulbs and distributing them in different pots.

Soil requirement: Well drained soil

Water requirement: Once a week during off season. From spring to blooming season, whenever the soil has lost moisture. Sun requirement: Shade. Low maintenance plant.

Fireball Lily Bub. The stalk grows to nearly half a feet in height and then flowers

The stalk after all the flowers have withered.