Plant library
Explore Plants
Filter by what you want to grow, the space you have and the season you are in.
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Silver Fernचांदी फर्नPityrogramma calomelanosA white-backed fern that colonises damp walls and cut slopes on its own.Water Lettuceजल सलादPistia stratiotesA floating rosette that shades a tub and starves the algae — but a weed if it escapes.Water Hyssopनीर ब्राह्मीBacopa floribundaA small creeping marsh herb for the shallow edge of a tub pond.
Chinese Hibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.LantanaपंचफूलीLantana camaraInvasive across Indian forests — grow the sterile garden cultivars only, never the wild kind.Hameliaरक्त पुष्पHamelia patensOrange tubular flowers, continuously, and the sunbirds that follow them.Malabar NutअडूसाJusticia beddomeiThe southern vasaka — a shade-tolerant shrub with white hooded flowers.Indian Pennywort Waterब्राह्मी जलHydrocotyle sibthorpioidesA creeping mat for the wet edge of a terrace pond or a bowl garden.ClitoriaअपराजिताClitoria ternateaBlue butterfly pea — a light climber that fixes nitrogen and makes blue tea.Lantana NativeराईमुनियाLantana camaraA relentless nectar plant — and an invasive that must be kept in a pot.PentasपेंटासPentas lanceolataFlat clusters of small stars that butterflies can actually land on.Ixoraरुग्मिनीIxora coccineaCompact evergreen with flower heads butterflies work all morning.Crepe JasmineचांदनीTabernaemontana divaricataNeat glossy shrub with pinwheel white flowers; the easiest good hedge there is.Marvel of Peruगुल-ए-बासMirabilis jalapaOpens at four in the afternoon and self-sows itself around the garden.Zinniaजिन्नियाZinnia elegansThe most reliable cut flower for an Indian summer terrace.VincaसदाबहारCatharanthus roseusFlowers every day of the year and asks for nothing. Indigenous to the deccan.Not sure where to start?
Answer three questions on the home page — your region, your space and your goal — and we will name two plants to sow this month.
How the library is organised
By regionEach entry notes where the plant grows well across India, from the Gangetic plain to coastal soils.
By seasonSowing windows for every month, so you never plant a winter green in May.
By spaceWindowsill, balcony, terrace or ground — filtered so you only see what will survive with you.
Checked by a botanistNames and facts are reviewed before publication; traditional uses are labelled as traditional.