Flower Gardens of Nainital in July, Kumaon Himalaya Photo Journal
Nainital is a flower lover’s delight in summer.
Nainital is a flower lover’s delight in summer. I saw a Kumaoni woman walk uphill with a green stem held carefully in her hand, despite her heavy shopping bag laden with vegetables. Wondering if it was a special vegetable, I took a break from following the blue magpie that was eyeing my apple and asked the smiling woman about the stem. She wasn’t the least bit tired despite walking uphill with a heavy load. Its a begonia cutting she said, and went on to explain that spring, summer and rains was the time for flowers in Nainital, and most of the flowers like fuschia, hydrangea and begonia do not grow in the plains of India.
The Uttarakhand High Court, Boat Club, Naina Devi temple, parks around Mall Road, Gurney House and The Naini Retreat Hotel were some of the places I found these flowers growing.
Hydrangea bushes with blue and pink flowers were almost everywhere. The High Court’s sloping garden is where I spotted them first. Hydrangeas, geraniums, dahlias, lilies, roses, margaritas, fuschias, marigold, snapdragons, cosmos, hibiscus and begonias are the ones that I recognized.
Hydrangea
Pink Hydrangea in a pot
Glorious Fuschia!
This is the first time I have seen fuschias. Remember them from photographs of humming birds sipping nectar from them and a book Chinese painting style. I found three colour combinations of fuschia in Nainital.
Bulbs, corms and tubers
Day Lily / Leopard Lily
Dahlia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. Begonia is the common name as well as the generic name for all members of the genus. With over 1,500 species, Begonia is one of the ten largest angiosperm genera.
Amazed by the display of Begonias in Rani Pilibhit’s private garden at The Naini Retreat
Jimmy Joshi: Gardener at The Naini Retreat and The Boat Club in Nainital
The magi maker – Jimmy Joshi, the gardener, inspecting his flowers.
Roses
Margarita
Ivy creeper
Aalu bel climber
Jafri Marigold and Snapdragons / Dogflower
And now for those whose names I do not know
A rooftop garden in a home on Aryapatta slopes, Nainital
This humble rooftop garden has pots of chrysanthemums, red geraniums and hydrangea in bloom.
A monsoon kitchen garden on Aryapatta hillside, Nainital
Cabbages are ready to be picked!