Navratri - The nine-day long festival is full of fun and fervor. All the carousel is incomplete without the nine colors that are dedicated to Goddess Durga's nine forms Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Skanda Mata, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Katyayani, Maha Gauri, Kaalratri, and Siddhidatri.
In lieu with this culture of celebrating nine forms with nine colors, devotees all around the country adorn the specific colored outfits on the specific day of Navratri for all nine days as announced for that particular year. The crowd turns monochromatic, and the unity is seen on the streets, local trains, buses, and offices.
Why confine this trend to clothes only? Let's take it even further, and paint the garden with nine flowers of 9 different colors, and offer them to Goddess Durga on the respective days.
Celebrate Navratri with these 9 Color Flowers:
Day 1: Yellow
Flower name: Allamanda
Where to find: Local gardens
Allamanda is loved for its bright green, attractive foliage and shiny yellow trumpet shaped flowers, that are produced in profusion over a long period during summer and the rains. The plant is of a semi-climbing and semi shrub nature. Usually, it is planted near arches, pergolas or pillars. Read about types of plant supports.
Day 2: Green
Flower name: Hari Champa (Artabotrys)
Where to find: Public garden
A large woody climber or half scandent shrub. Hari chapa is probably the most attractive green colored flowers. The flowers appear in clusters and exude a strong aroma. The plant flowers almost throughout the year but more during the summer and the rains.
Day 3: Grey
Plant name: Sage
Where to find: Kitchen/Herb garden
There are no gray colored flowers to offer. However, there are many plants that produce grayish-green leaves. Sage is one such kitchen herb that produces gray foliage. It is a beautiful aromatic plant that can be grown in pots.
Click here to buy sage seeds online in India.
Day 4: Orange
Flower name: The Cosmos
Where to find: Roadside wilderness, flower beds.
The Cosmos is a well known flowering plant. It is commonly grown in annual flower beds. The Cosmos grows in a variety of colors, but the orange variety is common. In India, you can find orange cosmos flowers growing along the highways like a wild plant in late monsoon.
Click here to buy orange Cosmos seeds online in India.
Day 5: White
Flower name: Mogra (Jasminum sambac)
Where to find: Home gardens, Local flower market.
Mogra is one the most commonly grown plants in India. It bears single or double fragrant flowers in the summer and flushes throughout the rain. It can be trained as a semi climber.
You may want to read more about top 10 most fragrant flowers in India.
Day 6: Red
Flower name: Rose
Where to find: Most gardens, flower market.
A well maintained rose plant can give you flowers throughout the year. There has to be a plant of red rose in every home garden either grown in a pot or on the ground. You can learn everything about roses in our series of blogs about the ‘world of roses,' ‘essential tips on growing roses' and ‘Propagation of roses by budding'
Day 7: Royal blue
Flower name: Krishna Kamal (Passiflora)
Where to find: Local garden, some flower markets.
It is commonly known as the passion flower. An evergreen climber favoured for its green, soft sweet scented flowers. Flowers are unusually and delicately beautiful. The numerous colorful filaments over the petals like rays and on the top sitting majestically are five anthers.
Day 8: Pink
Flower name: Lotus
Where to find: Muddy ponds, flower market.
Lotus is available in plenty at this time of the year. It is most valued and sacred flower in India. Lotus is associated with goddess Lakshmi. You can grow lotus in small outdoor freshwater ponds along with waterlilies and other aquatic plants.
Day 9: Purple
Flower name: Aster (Callistephus chinensis)
Where to find: flower market
China aster is one of the most valuable garden flowers available in shades of blue-purple-violet. It is widely cultivated in many parts of India all the year around. The cut Aster flowers last long in water. It is grown for bedding and potting.
Click here to read more about growing perennial Asters.
Happy Navratri!
