Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Hello From Home!

FestiveSeason's Greetings!




It's Vinayaka Chaturthi today but at home we kept it simpler than ever and there isn't much food to train the camera on, so here are some flowers instead!


I don't know what this is called but it looks like an orchid at close quarters. In reality, it's quite a small flower!


This creeper has followed us through the years, across homes. We were told the flower's name is Jooka Malli. It has a heady scent and always has some ants or other tiny insects running in and out.


Another of those nostalgic favourites that we don't seem to see in big cities anymore! The scent can perfume a room in minutes and give you a headache as well! It's growing wild and blooming in abundance in my aunt's house.


That's a small cluster of the orchid-like flower above.


This is a popular in many homes nowadays. I think of it as a modern flower because I didn't see this growing up, have only seen this in the last few years.


This pink hibiscus keeps the yellow and red ones company. As you can see, it's a beautiful, clear - and hot! - day.


I don't know what this is called either, but I loved the colour.

38 comments:

  1. Interesting looking flowers! I recognized only the hibiscus!! The jooka malli, and the one after that (the head ache one!) look intriguing! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

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    1. Jooka malli is actually passion flower. There are about 500 different species which essentially look similar to the one you have pictured belonging to the genus Passiflora.

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  2. Happy Ganesh Chaturti ...flowers looking great...

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  3. I know that headache one quite well. I cannot stand its smell though it is supposed to be a good smell. I just wish it wasn't so intense.

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  4. I can see you are having a colourful and peaceful Ganesh Chathurthi celebration. We also keep it simple when we celebrate this day. I did make Vella Kozhukattai, though.

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  5. Sra,
    soothing and refreshing to see these beautiful flowers , Yes its festive time of the year , and I am really looking forward to it.
    hugs and smiles

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  6. That's a pretty garden... Happy Vinayaka Chathurthi.

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  7. Always wondered what the second flower was...queer it does look..
    the headache one..I remember from school days, where it used to adorn quite a few heads!!!

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  8. Season's greetings to you too, Sra :)

    that orchid like flower looks very pretty, especially the bunch!

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  9. Dibs, the sampenga (the green trident-like flower) is famous, absolutely famous, for its scent. And highly prized too! My mother gets a headache from the scent, though!
    Priti, thanks, I'm glad at least my parents have a garden, I don't even have a balcony to put pots in.
    Jayashree, I know what you mean, we used to have it in our place growing up. I don't see it much nowadays. On the train home yesterday, it was being sold, and jogged my memory - I'd quite forgotten about it.
    Aparna, yes, have been spending the break with my baby niece!
    Jaya, festive time, yes, I wish it hadn't been so modernised, though!
    Laavanya, our older house had a bigger garden and we used to have some trees too, and the house before that, the house was smaller and the garden much bigger :)
    Rachel, what was it called? Did it have any English name?
    Shn, yeah, they're really pretty.

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  10. wow..all of them look great..are these from your present home?.I must come and check them out, they look so pretty!..looks like you enjoyed your holiday!..:)

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  11. No Valli, am at my folks' place!

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  12. hey pretty flowers here... happy vinayaka chaturthi too u....

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  13. Wow, seems like a huge garden, Sra :)

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  14. Happy Vinayaka Chavithi Sra! The flower look fascinating.

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  15. Sra those green ones are called "shenbaga poo" in tamil and amma loves it. They sell them stringed in selected places and I would buy them for her whenever I see them. Lovely pics! If u haven't made kozhukattai you should have dropped by my home. We made loads of them ;)

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  16. Lovely flowers Sra! Enjoy the festivities!

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  17. Lovely looking flowers Sra..:) Hope you had a joyous Vinayaka Chaturthi.

    Cheers.
    Siri

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  18. Rachna, hey, thanks, how are you?
    A & N, it's actually a small patch but at least they have a garden, my folks, I don't. :(
    Uma, yeah, I get all gardening-interested when I come home to my parents.
    Ni, really? This is shenbagapoo? All those Tamil songs and now I finally know what it means. Then I guess it's called Champak in Hindi.
    I wasn't at my home, Ni, am at my parents' in AP - all of us are on a diet so no sweets except for Ganesha!
    Jyothsna, hi, thanks, where were you?
    Siri, yes, playing with my baby niece all the time - am going back today.

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  19. Love your flower photos post! Beautiful.

    Seasons greetings!

    Paz

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  20. Hey thats not shenbagapoo, it is manoranjitham,it blooms in all splendor in my house, and my mom loves it. I hate it for its smell.

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  21. Belated Vinayaka Chaturthi....so how is your neice doing?? will email u soon...

    rajitha

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  22. Beautiful flowers, Sra. What's the one in the 3rd pic called - I do vaguely recall it having a strong, head-ache inducing scent.

    Mamatha

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  23. And I remember, as a little kid, sucking nectar out of the tiny flowers in the last picture. I call them honey suckle but I know that's not their name.

    Mamatha

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  24. Paz, thank you.
    Vidya, really? Anyway, I just checked Google Images to find out for myself and there's a poverty of information there - just one pic of each - and guess what, in Telugu, both this and the one under shenbagam are called sampenga, though they look completely different.
    Rajitha, my niece is, as any aunt would say, a delight! She's one happy baby!
    Mamatha, Ni says it's shenbagam, Vidya says it's manoranjitham, in Telugu we call it sampenga/sampangi.
    And I know the other flowers you mentioned - we would call them ixora and look for nectar too - these are not the same - the petals are different, if you notice.

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  25. This is a lovely assortment of nature's beauties.

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  26. The second, purple, flower is called "Passion Flower" in English. Don't known the others except the hibiscus, but I'm wondering what the green one smells like. I'm thinking something overpowering like jasmine. I'd like to take a sniff someday.

    Enjoy your time with baby niece, Sra! Happy Holidays to you!

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  27. Hi Sra, how are you? just was passing by and thought to say hi. beautiful flowers!wish you belated Ganesh Chaviti

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  28. lovely flowers sra.. happy ganesh chaturthi to you too!

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  29. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
    Thanks for the flowers :-)
    Cheers,
    Salil

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  30. gorgeous pic sra... that bluish flower is my fav. donno what it is exactly called as but we kids named it as alarm flower as it resembles clock ;)

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  31. Hi sra
    you have given me inspirations to work on....beauty in nature is what i look for even in real life too ! thanks for sharing the beauty !

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  32. What pretty flowers...nature definitely has its ways of brightening up a day :-)

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  33. Susan, it really is, thanks.
    Susan, the green one is v strong, way beyond jasmine.
    Sharmi, hi, am well, tks for asking. Getting back to blogging anytime?
    Mandira, thank you.
    Salil, welcome, and thanks.
    Sia, yeah, it does look like that!
    Sagari, thank you.
    Anamika, will watch out for those posts! :)
    Sunita, it really does!

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  34. I think the last flower is butterfly penta.

    Suganya

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  35. great looking flowers!!! I am impressed

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  36. I think the third flower is not Shenbagam but Manoranjitham. You can see the difference here

    Michelia Champaka - Shenbagam - http://www.flickr.com/photos/30344835@N03/3063223428/

    Artabotrys hexapetalus - manoranjitham
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinesh_valke/504206567/

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