Regions: North India

A fortnight of spectacle and then a head of seed the birds will take.

Edible flowers and leaves, and a magnet that pulls aphids off your vegetables.

Opens in full sun on a terrace where nothing else will survive noon.

Flowers every day of the year and asks for nothing. Indigenous to the deccan.

Flame of the forest — bare branches and orange flowers through the dry spring.

Thrives on being ignored — the more you neglect it, the harder it flowers.

Regrows from the root end of a shop-bought bunch — the cheapest crop there is.

Plant single cloves in October and lift whole bulbs in March.

Grown from sets or seedlings; needs depth, sun and patience.

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