Growing succulents at home What would you be looking for while choosing plants for your garden? In case easy-to-maintain and good-looking top the list of requirements, then succulents totally fit the bill. Plants whose leaves and stems store water to become juicy and swollen are called Succulents. They do this to store excess water which they can use later in conditions of water scarcity. Plants from over 50 families come under this category, and include the ones native to dry terrains as well as some which thrive in rainforests. A few grow along the coast, where their succulent tissue adapts them to the high salinity in soil. Cacti are a subset of the succulents. Succulents make for great house-plants. Some of the commonly available succulents are Agaves, Aloes, Echeveria, Sedum, Sempervivum, few Euphorbias and some type of Orchids. You can find them in many shades of green to purple to orange and more colours that you can think of! This wide variety in this family makes th...

The Royal One The name Begonia brings to mind the word ‘royal’. With its large leaves, often seen having a metallic sheen and its beautiful flamboyant flowers, this plant is one royal treat to the eyes. Earlier known for its pendulous flowers (in the case of Tuberous Begonias), today this species is mainly known for its foliage variety which can be grown as ornamental potted plants in a greenhouse or at home. With 1,795 species, the genus Begonia is one of the largest genera among the Angiosperms. The genus was first identified and documented in 1700 and named in honour of Michel Begon, a French botanist and administrator of Santo Domingo in the West Indies. Begonias are widespread in the world, and have adapted to varying conditions, resulting in the extensive variety seen in the species. They occur in tropical and temperate climates of South America, Central America, Africa and South Asia. Some of the different types of Begonias are: ·       T...

Colour me Red! A plant that flowers all-year round; with bright, glossy leaves and flowers that look eternally new; so much so that you can fib to your friends that someone recently gifted it to you! That’s the exotic Anthurium . Anthuriums are well-known for their brightly-coloured and heart-shaped spathes. They are usually seen to have deep-red colouration; however they occur in many other colours like green, pink and orange as well. They belong to the Arum family, which is known for plants with bright foliage consisting of a central rod-like spadix enclosed within a brightly-colored spathe. They are native to the Americas, especially to countries like Mexico and Argentina.  The botanical details of this plant are as follows: Kingdom: Plantae Family: Araceae Genus: Anthurium Other names: Flamingo, Painted Tongue, Tail Flower Anthuriums are easy to grow in pots at home provided a few of their requirements are taken care of. Temperature Requirements ...

The story so far… There lived a couple in the quaint old town of Bangalore, in the quiet and empty lanes of Banashankari. That was the Bangalore of yore. It was truly the garden city then. The couple too had a small garden. But it was mo re than just a garden for them. Every day, the couple tended to their garden and sowed seeds and raised saplings. All year through and many years like this, the couple toiled to raise and nurture the greens growing in it. Soon there were Violets, Anthuriums, Chrysanthemums and Marigolds sprawling across the green space. From this humble beginning, many years later in June 2006, Blooms and Ivy took birth in a small store in Jayanagar, Bangalore.  The expert at the helm of affairs was Mr. Vishwanath, who had just retired from the famed Indo American Hybrid Seeds after 42 years of service as a Horticulturist.   Ably by his side was h is wife, Mrs. Uma who had spent 30-odd years magically growing practically anything and everyth...