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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VanillaवनीलाVanilla planifoliaA climbing orchid that must be hand-pollinated flower by flower, at dawn.Black Pepper Vineकाली मिर्चPiper nigrumThe vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity.Giant Taroमान कचुAlocasia macrorrhizosEnormous upright leaves for a wet shaded corner — architecture rather than a crop.
Chinese Hibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.Black Pepperकाली मिर्चPiper nigrumThe vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity.
CinnamonदालचीनीCinnamomum verumCoppiced for its inner bark; the leaf is a spice in its own right.Kaffir Limeकागज़ी नीम्बूCitrus hystrixDouble-lobed aromatic leaves used across the north-east and the far south.Bilimbiबिलिम्बीAverrhoa bilimbiSour fruit straight off the trunk, in constant supply on the wet coasts.Star FruitकमरखAverrhoa carambolaRibbed yellow fruit several times a year on a compact tree.Firecracker FlowerअबोलीCrossandra infundibuliformisThe abolí of southern flower markets — orange fans, picked daily.PapayaपपीताCarica papayaFruit inside a year from seed — the fastest fruit a household can grow.BananaकेलाMusa acuminataA single sucker in a corner gives shade, cooking leaves and, in time, fruit.Frangipani WhiteगुलचीनPlumeria albaThe white frangipani of temple gardens, tougher than the pink and just as scented.Ixoraरुग्मिनीIxora coccineaCompact evergreen with flower heads butterflies work all morning.VincaसदाबहारCatharanthus roseusFlowers every day of the year and asks for nothing. Indigenous to the deccan.Champaचम्पाPlumeria rubraGrows from a bare cutting pushed into dry soil; scents a whole terrace.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.