GARDENING: 'SHOULD I PLANT BAMBOO IN LARKANA?'.

Q. Can you suggest some sun-loving, flowering vines and creepers that can be grown in Karachi and are easily available here too?

A. Allamanda with its yellow trumpet-shaped flowers on and off almost around the year is a good option, as is Tecoma grandiflora - trumpet vine with its terracotta-coloured blooms throughout the hot weather and, sometimes, throughout the autumn months too. Then there are Antigonon (Sandwich Island creeper) with pretty sprays of rose and white flowers in summer, and white flowered, heavily perfumed Beaumontia grandiflora which flowers in spring. Other suggestions are: Bignonia (golden shower); Clerodendron, passion flowers of various kinds with flowers in different colours; Petrea volubilis; Quisqualis indica (Rangoon creeper); Solanum Seafortheanum (potato creeper); Thunbergia grandiflora; Clitoria ternatea (Mussel shell creeper) and lots of different kinds of Ipomea (Morning glory).

Q. My mother is very passionate about gardening. She planted a few papaya trees and, in the same bed, a number of sweet-scented lilies. The papayas from these trees had a very sweet smell and taste. Could it be because of the close proximity to the flowers or was it just by fluke?

A. How wonderful it would be if we could improve the quality and fragrance of our fruit by cultivating perfumed flowers around it/them but, as you will have surmised, this, unfortunately, is not the case.

Q. I want to grow cane plants to beautify our expansive area of ground in Larkana, which has not been used for a long time and is very overgrown. The intention is to make the area habitable for birds and animals. Please guide as to how I should proceed.

A. Presumably you mean bamboo which, to be honest, is not a good idea in the long run as, if at some point, you decide that you prefer more of a mixed planting, bamboo is extremely difficult to remove. Most bamboo species also require copious amounts of water to keep them looking good. The idea of creating a wildlife haven is a good one though. As the land has been unused for some time, wildlife will already have moved in and established itself to a degree. I suggest that, instead of eradicating everything and starting from scratch, you tidy the area up but leave any trees and shrubs in place - unless they are badly overcrowded, in which case you could thin them out. Add more locally indigenous trees and shrubs in selected spots, with the emphasis on fruit-bearing species to attract more wildlife and, if...