Goals: beauty

Grown for seed rather than leaf; magenta heads over the whole monsoon.

A Himalayan ginger relative with scented white flowers and aromatic rhizomes.

The small-flowered jasmine of the monsoon, sweeter at dusk than at noon.

The Spanish jasmine of the perfume trade, grown widely in the north and west.

Green by day and overpowering by night; plant it away from a bedroom window.

Drops its scented white flowers at dawn — the harsingar of temple courtyards.

Golden champa — a tall tree whose flowers are sold by the handful at dusk.

A dry-hill root used to colour oil a deep red; slight above ground, tough below.

Fine blue-white flowers over ferny leaves, then the black seed of the spice box.

The dark-leaved tulsi, sharper in scent and a little slower to grow than the green.