The star players are Flame Vines (Pyrostegia venusta), engulfing entire buildings, compounds and pergolas in masses of glorious orange blooms. No prizes for guessing why they’re called so, but if here’s a plant that can make the humblest dwelling look like a piece of paradise, in the fleeting few months that it is in bloom.

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Flame vines are natives of South America, found in the wild in Brazil and Paraguay. They’ve been domesticated for a couple of centuries now, growing best in tropical zones with relatively cooler winters. In India, they bloom around Sankranti, which gives them their name Sankrant-Vel in Marathi. The brilliant orange hue of the flowers gives them their name Thangappu (goldflower) in Tamil, and rather amusingly, Golden Showers in Bengaluruspeak. They are important Feng-Shui plants too, said to bring luck and prosperity to homes. Flame vines are from the Bignoniaceae family, home to a host of beautiful flowering shrubs and vines. They have exactly one glorious blooming period every year, producing thousands of inflorescences of tube-like flowers, favourites with nectar seeking insects and birds. Pollinated flowers drop off a couple of days after blooming and form slender seed pods, bearing dozens of viable seeds, ready for the next generation.