The Urban Gardener

The Urban Gardener Garden Consultant. Farmer. Blogger. Come, learn how to grow your own urban garden... the natural way.

Now you see me ... Now you don't. Oriental Garden Lizards (Calotes versicolor) may go by the fierce common name 'Bloodsu...
21/01/2026

Now you see me ... Now you don't.

Oriental Garden Lizards (Calotes versicolor) may go by the fierce common name 'Bloodsucker' but that is more for show rather than fact as far as humans are concerned. (Now if you were an insect, that would be a whole other story!)
They may be masters of disguise, blending with ease into the background, but the bright red throat on the male in breeding season really make them stand out and earn that warrior-worthy nickname.
For gardeners the Calotes are welcome residents in the garden who pay for their keep by feeding on insects. Natural pest control at its best!

( Urban gardening , natural pest control , insectivores , gardens of India , tropical gardens )

In bloom now in the urban garden, with dreams of fruits soon. And not just any fruit ... these large, fragrant blooms wi...
05/07/2025

In bloom now in the urban garden, with dreams of fruits soon. And not just any fruit ... these large, fragrant blooms will grow into delicious dragonfruit.

I wish the blooms would last longer than the few hours on a single night, though. So fragrant that they scent the night air and tempt me outside even when it's pouring!
And that's when the dragonfruit plant blooms ... during the rainy season. Which I always thought was a bit odd considering that it is a cactus and cactii are usually associated with dry, arid conditions.
I'm told that they can bloom from May - November but in my garden in Mumbai, it's always been from June - August. And always at night and that too for just a few hours before they start wilting.

I almost didn't post the second pic but it shows the bloom in various stages from bud to growing fruit so I thought it deserved to be seen 😊



( Kitchen Gardens , Urban Garden, Grow fruits )

Have a lime tree and you'll get butterflies, not just lemonade. My lime plant ( not yet a tree) is alive with a flutter ...
01/07/2025

Have a lime tree and you'll get butterflies, not just lemonade.

My lime plant ( not yet a tree) is alive with a flutter of Lime Swallowtails.
I found this beauty on an orchid growing close to the lime plant. I think it had just eclosed and was waiting to get some strength in its wings before flying away.

Another butterfly that loves to use the lime plant as a host is the Common Mormon. I can't wait to see more of them!

When music, gardens, art and architecture come together a travelling gardener has to pause more than a moment.The Mozart...
15/06/2025

When music, gardens, art and architecture come together a travelling gardener has to pause more than a moment.

The Mozart Monument ( Mozartdenkmal ) in Burggarten, Vienna had a treble clef made of candy-pink begonias planted in a lush green lawn when I visited last June.
And in the background, a glimpse of the grand Hofburg Palace.

Happy New Year, dear Urban Gardener family. May 2025 bring you flowers and greenery enough to make you happy. And may t...
01/01/2025

Happy New Year, dear Urban Gardener family.

May 2025 bring you flowers and greenery enough to make you happy. And may they always bring enough butterflies to make your soul dance.

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