India Garden

It takes two to tango!

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 05:17:00 +0000

You know that life is chugging back to its wonderful old leisurely pace when things start happening the way they used to happen. Finally I have been able to bring myself back to sit down and write my thoughts. Ever since I started blogging about my plants and my world there have been instances when I felt that I have nothing left to show in the garden, no ideas to share, no new things to write about; and every time I missed writing the post on account of a ‘block’ I rued it; but not this time.
This time there was a strong and a very welcome reason for the absence. SHE is the reason:

She is the second fairy to have blessed my life and life seems beautiful with the sweet gurgles and coos. I can only imagine this little sapling too to blossom with a love for nature and plants, like her elder sibling.

Gardening didn’t exactly get neglected but wasn’t there on the priority list for some time, so though whatever was there has been preserved but nothing new has been added. Now is the time when the garden is back on radar and I am looking forward to the uber pleasure of tending to all the little things which make this life beautiful and worth living.

Surfing Seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:53:00 +0000

For a long time things had been sedate and the tits and bits which went on in the garden were not enough to stimulate me to write about them. Thankfully, there has been something different, something to cheer about and something to look forward to. I chanced across a website selling seeds and decided to try it. These concepts, though quite in vogue in other parts of the planet, are relatively new to India. I made a generous order of seeds (by my standards), and was thrilled to receive the neatly packaged courier. The seeds were sown around 15 days back and the best part is that the germination has been an astounding 90%.Internet and Satellite television have really taken the pain of being cut off from the modern way of life away from living in a small town, although, thankfully, the peace and tranquility hasn't been much affected. A few months back I couldn't grow Broccoli because of non availability of the seeds. Broccooli, although a wonderfully nutritious vegetable is remarkably absent from Indian culture and cuisine. It was perchance that a nursery had brought Broccoli seedlings a few years back and I had the unexpected pleasure of reaping the rewards of a Broccoli crop. But on finding very few takers in the town, he didn’t bring it again, leaving me cursing the town I live in. Thankfully now things have changed a lot. It is a sea change from the times when one, while on travel to distant places, used to scout for seeds and saplings; but now at the flick of a finger you can order what you want through the internet - though money still remains a basic necessity:-) The weather is excellent and besides the newly acquired seeds the older vegetables and fruits too are thriving like these Brinjals which have been aplenty, Some bitterness to add to the flavor... Salad is ready...
Pure, Carbide free, fully homegrown Bananas are waiting for harvest... and....when life gives you Lemons - collect them:-)

How Green is my valley

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:58:00 +0000

We are almost into September and the landscape here is replete with an abundance of Green. A pleasant sight, thanks to the wonderful rainy season we had, though it does make keeping the garden organized a heavy job. In India Monsoons have always been very important determinant of crop production and many a political fortunes have been made and destroyed depending on the quantum of monsoon rains. Despite the advancement and the heavy talk of maintaining a 8% growth rate, we are a primarily agrarian economy. All the scientific advancements haven't been able to make weather prediction 100% accurate, it remains an imperfect and largely unreliable science; and so a good rainy season is always a pleasant surprise...a reason to rejoice. The plants and the garden in general seem to be echoing the general mood; beautifully bejeweled with tiny droplets, gleaming in the crystal clear post rainfall Sun.

A weekend escapade

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:22:00 +0000

It seems that the general psychology nowadays has changed and most of us tend to get bored of the routine too easily and too quickly. It is to escape this mundane routine of life in a small town that I feel the need for frequent small vacations. Mussoorie, a beautiful hill station had served the purpose aptly for a weekend escapade, but lately it has almost become a suburb of Dehradun - with all the hustle bustle and an overflow of human species. Constant and ever increasing flow of tourists with the resultant urbanization has robbed the hill station of its erstwhile charm. Therefore, this time we went to Dhanaulti instead, which was around 28 km drive from the picture palace end of Mussoorie. Dhanaulti was like a dream. It felt as if we are high up in the clouds, or above them. Unlike other hill stations, there was no commercialization, except a few kiosks selling tea and light snacks. The air was crispy fresh, pollution and humidity-free. All of the hill station was just a ridge on the mighty Himalayas and in the name of development were two ‘eco parks’. The parks had numerous varieties of trees and a host of birds flocking to revel in the relatively virgin nature. There were, thankfully, very few hotels and restaurants. The chief attraction was untouched nature and the wonderful weather. ‘Eco parks’ had several attractions for kids in the form of rides and swings. Acres of green area on a hilly terrain with a cool mist engulfing you now and then, amidst the chirping of birds with scant humanity made the experience really unforgettable. On our way back we dropped in Musoorie for an hour or so. It was a rare stroke of good luck that we found Ruskin Bond sitting in his favorite book shop at mall road. His books have been a part of my growing up years and now they are a part of my daughter’s. Without wasting a moment she was inside the shop, requesting her favorite author for an autograph, and with which our dear ‘Bond’ promptly obliged.

Exotica

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:04:00 +0000

It is a beautiful season. There is magic in the air and on the ground as well! looking at the profuse blooms gives a joy unparalleled in nature. This year I added some new flowers to my collection and thankfully they have all bloomed, with the unfortunate exception of Tulips. It may be the weather... or soil...or plain bad luck, but the Tulips have not blessed my garden by blooming. Silver lining is that the local nursery guy has taken a fancy for Tulips after looking at the awesome curiosity and demand they generated, so I can look forward to pushing my luck again next year. That’s what i love about gardening - the potential for continuous change. It raises my oxytocin levels to no end to see these exotic flowers blooming here in my garden. In fact the desire to flaunt these exotica pushed me out of my extreme lethargy to write this blog post :-) Liliums... Primroses... Hyacinths... are the first time bloomers. There were many issues i had with life in a small city, and not getting flower seeds/bulbs of my choice was one of them. But there seems to be a change in the air. The tastes of people are changing. And, thankfully, some nurseries here are receptive of the changing tastes.They have stocked up on many hybrids and different varieties of flowering plants. I think I can look forward to a good gardening season ahead.

Towards a healthier life

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:28:00 +0000

I remember reading somewhere that if you want to give someone permanent happiness, teach him gardening. It was while going through the newspaper that I came across this interesting article It is about a School in Indian city of Mumbai where they have successfully banished junk food from school canteen and substituted it with healthier alternatives grown in the School compound by the children themselves! Children were encouraged to cultivate crops which they could consume in their school lunch. Net result is that you have happier and healthier little gardeners who grow up with the satisfaction of having contributed to the betterment of environment besides adding to there own health. The world has changed rapidly over the last two decades. Advancements in Information Technology have revolutionized the way we used to do things. Globalization has resulted in nutritious traditional diets being replaced by junk food, which is heavily advertised by multinationals. Young impressionable minds find it glamorous to associate with these starchy, trans-fat full, patently unhealthy foods. One cannot fight the side effects of growing market economy with socialistic rules and regulations alone; instead, providing healthier alternatives and educating masses about them is the way to go. I admit that before reading this very inspiring news article I used to scoff at NGOs trying to teach people about environment sustainability etc, dismissing them as an attempt to gather publicity and government funds. But, thankfully I am wrong and there are some genuine and very brilliant attempts at preserving the Globe.

Cute Nibblers

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:15:00 +0000

Sunny winters ensure that to escape the cold dark indoors I spent more and more time outdoors; at least till the frigid sun less days are not here. There is always something happening and so you do not get bored even for a single second. Just yesterday I saw - what I then thought to be a strange bird but google told me that this brown headed Barbet is fairly common in India - this cute birdie helping itself merrily to the Guavas. Guavas are one fruit in my garden which, to my utter helplessness, are reserved for the winged; I seldom get to enjoy the lovely fruit as the birds always beat me to it...not that I mind. I very carefully tip toed to shoot it with the camera, but it was blissfully unconcerned with my presence. It must have been after a few minutes that I looked in the direction of Guava tree to find that the Barbet had now been replaced by a Bulbul. Like the Barbet, Bulbul was relishing the same Guava and didn’t mind me taking a few snaps in return for allowing her an unrestricted access to the Guavas.I was wondering on the wonderful cooperation that goes on in nature - Bulbul,Barbet, all eating the same Guava one after another. As I turned my gaze again towards the Guava tree, I saw the visitor number three - A squirrel. I do not know if this was mutual cooperation or she bullied the bulbul away, but here she was nibbling the left over Guava which was still hanging to the tree branch. I was out for almost quarter of an hour and so much happened on a single Guava tree. At other occasions I have noticed other welcome culprits like parrots who satisfy their appetite on the Guava tree leaving me with the half eaten fruit to gaze on but the satisfaction of watching nature in perpetual motion is all worth much more than the ‘loss’.

Moving on...

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Life moves at a very interesting pace when things happen in the garden. I have planted the seeds which i had stored in last season. The beds are ready. Today we had the first fog of the season, quite prematurely in fact; fog is not to be expected before mid December here. Spinach is growing in plenty and that must be the situation everywhere in this area because a lot of my neighbours have asked me if i can use some Saag - a pureed spinach preparation, commonly eaten in North India. After a long time I had the luxury of visiting local nursery yesterday. The nursery owner had - to my utter surprise - brought in some Tulip bulbs, along with Irises and Hyacinths. I had been dying to grow Tulips here. All the lovely blogs, even some of the Indian ones, feature their gorgeous Tulips. I do not know if they will grow in my climatic conditions but i will have the satisfaction of having given them a try. Besides the exotic ones i also got some Marigolds. I plan to plant them between the Mums, so that when, by spring it is time for Mums to wither, the Marigolds would be in bloom. And then there was this little birdie tip toeing her way around the garden; I haven’t seen it before but was completely enamored by its furtive walk. The bird was obviously happier on the ground as it made no attempts to fly despite my presence there. The pleasant outdoors in North Indian winters are capped by these unexpected bonuses. Things are picking up slowly. Winters have begun and till now the temperatures are cool and comfortable. The days ahead will see the mercury plummeting further and one will need all the will power to get up and get going....but the prospect seems inviting to me:-)

Back to blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:37:00 +0000

Last three months have been stressful. This monsoon saw an unprecedented increase in incidence of Malaria, Dengue and unexplained fever, keeping me too busy with professional obligations. Thankfully, with the advent of healthy season (winters) things are better now and I have time for both myself and blogging. Not much change in the garden except that the winter vegetables are growing. It is the most enjoyable aspect of this season that I get to enjoy homegrown vegetables – infinitely healthier than anything sold in the market. In another significant development, the eucalyptus trees in the garden were cut off by the people from forest department as they posed a threat to the residence. It always pains me to see a tree being cut, and it was even worse to see that happening in my own backyard, but I had little say in the matter. One of the trees was leaning dangerously towards the house and had to be cut. The other was also perceived to pose some threat hence removed. Sometimes seemingly bad things are for good; now, at least, I can sleep in piece during thunderstorms.The stumps are looking unsightly. I am still thinking on as to how to give them a prettier look. Chrysanthemums have started blooming, formally indicating the advent of winters. It is still around 3 months to spring and by all indications there is going to be a very frigid winter before that. Life will mostly be indoors and I will have the posts of all my blogging friends to keep me warm.

Hail Monsoon

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:21:00 +0000

It had been an uncomfortable last month; june was exceptionally hot. Looking at the burning landscape made me feel that it had never rained here. Whenever I read the posts of my fellow bloggers from south India, where the monsoons arrived earlier, it felt as if they are some distant lands where rains happen and clouds are a phenomena seen in foreign lands or geography books. Then it happened. Yesterday morning I woke up as usual expecting the strong morning sun to greet me, but the darkness around had me befuddled. It was a completely overcast sky waiting tensely to open up.And open it did. It poured. The rains were heavy and continuous for at least 6 hours – something rare for this place – yet within an hour after they stopped; the Earth around me was quite dry, signaling its remarkable absorptive power on account of absence of rains for so long. Thankfully, yesterday was not an isolated munificence on the part of rain Gods; it has been raining continuously since yesterday night. It is music to the ears to be sleeping cozily with the sound of raindrops on the rooftop interrupted only by an occasional thunder. The parched earth, the thirsty birds, the drying plants, the heat paralyzed me…we were all waiting for this moment, and it’s finally here. May it rain the way it should and the way it has not for the last few years, so that all the miseries get drowned in the cleanest water from the heavenly abodes.

Butterfly garden

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:35:00 +0000

My most pleasant memories of childhood were those of a nearby garden with lots of beautiful flowers and butterflies flitting around. 1980's in Delhi used to be the good old days of flowers, parks and less crowd; a fictional dream in the nowadays urban life. The pleasant dream, which it was to be in such gardens, got drowned in the sea of urban chaos. But getting posted in a small city with a big house was an opportunity to live up that dream again. I started planting flowers without any conscious attention towards attracting butterflies. Gradually, as the garden evolved, so did the kind of life forms visiting it. It was this year, my sixth with the house and its garden, that I got a whole lot of butterflies gracing the place. Watching these magically beautiful insects, I felt like reliving my childhood dream. Inspired, I thought about consciously making the place more butterfly friendly. I surfed the net for making an ideal butterfly garden but the information was either woefully inadequate or of places having a very different flora and climate from mine. So, it was by sheer chance that I got some of the right kind of flowers for butterflies and felt like sharing my experience here: The first and foremost requirement for a butterfly garden has to be the plants which attract them. Lantana being the universal favorite, tops my list! Pentas, a shrub with small star like flowers, too attracts a number of butterflies to the garden. Single petaled Dahlias were an interesting package this spring. They seemed to hold a very special place in the butterfly heart, as I could find two, three, and at times even four butterflies sitting together on a Dahlia rosette! And mind you, the big gorgeous double Dahlias had no takers as far as butterflies are concerned!! Helichrysum blooms too were always surrounded by butterflies and this rare Silverline butterfly visited this garden only once and had its eyes set exclusively on the paper like bloom, leaving aside fancy ones like Roses and Amaryllis. Verbenas, acting as a perfect host, too had groups of butterflies looming around for nectar Sunflower and Gaillardias, the summer annuals, welcome the butterflies even in scorching summer months Buddha belly plant whose virtues I have discussed before also, brings butterflies to my garden almost throughout the year Then there are those plants on whose leaves caterpillars thrive. There are hundreds of these horrible looking butterfly precursors gnawing away greedily on the leaves of plants they set eyes upon. These include Amaryllis, Lemon,Radish and host of others, a classic case of beasts molting into beauties. These things have voracious appetite. They reduced the leaves of a full lemon plant to skeleton in a matter of day! Another point that came across for a butterfly garden was an absolutely zero use of insecticides. Last year too I had the same flowers but the butterflies were absent. This year I decided not to use any insecticides, mainly because of the horrible things I had read about them. An unforeseen bonus was the sudden increase in the number of butterflies, though I had to tolerate some extra, nasty, mosquito bites.

Cherry Blossoms

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:53:00 +0000

This spring I tasted a different kind of bloom, thanks to my blogging friend Geek Gardener and another generous gardener Thomas whom I met on Orkut. Thomas was kind enough to send some seeds from the wonderful place, Kerala, where he lives. It was around one year back that he sent a scrap about having couriered seeds of tomatoes,beans,bitter gourd and brinjal. The seeds turned out to be of excellent quality and the lovely tomatoes which grew out of them are the tastiest and juiciest I have ever had. Geek Gardenerfrom Bangalore gave the seeds for cherry tomatoes. A lot bloomed for me this spring, but these cherry tomatoes in four different shapes were unlike anything I ever had. They were very different from tomatoes I had seen in real. In fact, my friends and neighbors were quite amused to see these little, shiny tomatoes, a sight they were not used to. Cherry tomatoes are not very common in my part of the country, though, thanks to the plethora of cookery shows, things are changing. I had a lot of them growing but didn’t have much idea on what to do with the pretty harvest. Googling for recipes, and with a little improvisation I prepared this salad, which was a little sour but was praised by my guests; a part for the novelty and a part for the health benefits.Blogging is so good, healthy and…tasty too!

A Sackful of Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:59:00 +0000

We have all learnt something new and inspiring from our fellow bloggers. I, for one, have to thank one of the posts by a very talented amateur gardener, Jamie, for this bountiful harvest of potatoes, I got in a sack. Here, in my city, we use and reuse these flour sacks for carrying wheat flour. I bought four of them from my local flour mill. The guy was quite amused at the alternate use I was going to put his flour sacks to. After filling them with soil I sowed potatoes in it, and it was with the joy of a high school student whose science experiment has come right that I greeted the first potato shoot. One has to keep the top margins of the bag rolled outside, so that when the shoots are around 8-10 centimeters long you can unfurl it and add more soil/compost. I face a huge termite problem, and as a result the potatoes sown in the ground fail to grow properly. Sowing potatoes in a sack circumvented the termite problem effectively and as a bonus I did not have to worry about water logging either.In a matter of three to four months, the potatoes were ready for harvest. Here is a comparison: On left is the potato harvested from ground and the right one is out of the flour sack. Imagine a life without potatoes, without all those seductive French Fries and Potato chips...scary, to say the least. No wonder, my daughter feels that I have hit a jackpot by being able to grow the starchy tuber in a sack.

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:43:00 +0000

Bugged!

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:45:00 +0000

It is beauty and blooms all around. Such is the magic of Spring that there is a breath taking outburst of colors and fragrances in the surroundings. But like everything else in life, even this goodness comes with a catch. There is a profusion of bugs out to spoil the spring party. With the official spring invitees, come the gate crashers. There are the mealy bugs, the aphids, and a host of others whose names I do not know but do wish to, so that I at least know where my curses are going. What appears like a beautiful criss cross venation pattern on the leaves is actually the handiwork of leaf miners. After a healthy gap of two years the Mango tree is showing the promise of a bounty, but here also the bug has been quick to grab the spoils; so much for organic gardening! The usual practice is to secure a cellophane sheet around the tree stem which will prevent the bug from crawling up the tree but these slimy creatures seem blessed, as despite my best efforts a good number still manage themselves to a treat. Here some near cousin of Aphids, whose exact credentials I do not know, has marched a whole army on my mustard plant. I am a mute spectator to the plight before the combined insect might. All kinds of life activity are on the increase. The bugs, bees, birds, butterflies…they are all there, even the viruses are having a hay time. A nasty bout of flu left me with a slightly bitter spring taste. Winters do bring in their own set of problems but they are definitely healthier than any other season. In spite of these problems spring remains a season to savor, and a garden full of flowers is a joy forever…

Self Seeders: a laid back gardener's first love

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Come Spring and I have surprises springing up everywhere. The self seeding beauties of my garden have started to show up and the thrill of finding these nature’s surprises cannot be compared with the planned landscaping we indulge in. Verbenas, Larkspur, Poppies, and Nasturtiums are the no fuss variety which crop up from time to time in my garden. Nasturtiums and Poppies show the most prolific growth. I read in some blogs about the use of Nasturtiums in salads; haven’t really tried it, but if my taste buds like it then I have a colorful salad component ready every year. Poppies also keep springing up here there and everywhere. Things sometimes reach epidemic proportions when I am forced to cull some of the plants. Larkspur or Delphinium is another one, less prolific, but very appealing. Its lovely violet color is a treat to the eyes and that it grows without putting in any effort is an icing on the cake. Verbenas, white and purple, started growing since a couple of weeks. It was around 3 years back that I got this plant from a friends’ house. Since then I never had to bother again about storing the seeds or keeping the cuttings, they have been growing year after year The most prolific of all these self seeders are Marguerite Daisies which reward me with beautiful white and yellow flowers every spring and that too with minimal effort. We select, sow, nurture and grow so many plants; trying to include the most remarkable ones in our collection, yet it is the natural landscapes which appeal the most to the eye, and these self seeding plants have a huge role in creating these vast expanses of natural wonders.

Royal Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:46:00 +0000

I had the constant grouse about my New Year eve being never any different, spent at the same place year after year, though in the always so refreshing company of friends and families. Thankfully this one was different; as I welcomed 2010 in the majestic, erstwhile princely, place of Jodhpur, which falls in the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is a state I have come to love for all its rich history, majestic splendor and palatial opulence. It was a seven day trip starting from beautiful Bikaner, followed by sandy Jaisalmer, and then the royal Jodhpur. Bikaner, the first stop on this tryst with royal Rajasthan, is in middle of the Thar Desert and has now a touch of modernity coexisting with the huge and magnificent forts and palaces along with ancient temples and traditions. The star attraction is the magnificent fort of Bikaner, or Junagarh fort as it is called. It is a huge man made marvel in the heart of the city built in 15th century by ‘Raja Rai’, one of the most able and trusted Generals of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Rajasthan is truly a royal state having been ruled by the Rajputs, who were avid fort builders, and their fetish for architectural opulence still stands in most of the tourist places of Rajasthan. It has, with all the trappings of luxury and grandeur, an architectural similarity to the Amer fort in Jaipur, which I visited last year. The overall beauty of the palace is astonishing but it was this mix of devotion and indulgence, the ‘Jhula’ or swing for the lord Krishna and his beloved Radha, that particularly caught my eye; it is a testimony to the richness and lavishness of the bygone times. The bedroom left me gaping with awe. The elaborate carvings and embellishments, and the whole ambience cannot be measured in monetary terms; it is an invaluable creation. The walls were coated with pure Gold and precious jewels studded the designs and paintings. Another common aspect of the Rajasthan forts is the beautifully geometric gardens. The design style has been influenced by the Mughals, who left a great impact on Indian culture. But Bikaner is much more than the fort and the palaces. It houses National Camel research centre, which has an incredible variety of Indian camels. The innocent eyed ship of desert is a remarkable animal and the information on this board left me with tremendous respect for the unique adaptability of this animal to the desert environment (Click on the photo to enlarge and read the board). The handicrafts and hand woven Durries (rugs) are a specialty of Bikaner. Hand weaving is becoming an endangered Art on account of the economic hardships which these exceptionally skilled but poor artisans have to face. Thanks to tourism the Government has woken up to the plight of these people and several steps are on to showcase their skills at an international platform. Nothing managed to hook my little one... ...as much as this famous temple -‘the Karni Devi Mandir’, and not at all for its religious value, but for completely bizarre, unforeseen and, almost literally, biting reason. The temple, a much revered one, is home to scores…err no, hundreds…no, thousands of Rats…in fact around 20,000, as the guide told me! There are Rats everywhere. They run with gay abandon, unconcerned and unaffected by the thronging devotees. The rats have become the most attractive aspect of the temple…it does sound paradoxical though. The temple was built in the 15th century and it is said that local mystic, and demigoddess, ‘Karni Mata’ had forecasted that none of her family members will ever die and will continue to live on as rats in the premises of this temple. We all have customs, traditions, folklores; sometimes irrational, sometimes strange, and sometimes downright bizarre. But despite their lack of logic, they add richness to our life. They are a great bonding force. Just imagine a life totally ruled by logic – mathematical, insipid and robotic – and the need for some irrationality is immediately felt.

Foggy thoughts....

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:47:00 +0000

Why can’t I feel Global warming? It has become a fad to discuss environment and Global warming. The movers and shakers of this world have held a meet in Copenhagen for the same; hopefully, something concrete will come out from all these efforts. But, ironically all the perils of Global warming are being discussed when we shiver in the severest winter seen since a long time. The minimum temperature had touched 0 degrees C on the New Year day – something totally unprecedented and hence a hot topic of discussion – and it has been almost a fortnight since Sun shone properly. A hazy landscape enveloped in a dense fog greets the eyes every morning. On New Year I vacationed in the warm cozy desert cities of Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner, the weather there was quite warm in the day and a little cool in the night, but nothing prepared me for the blast of cold air that greeted me as I got down at the Saharanpur Station in the morning. Needless to add that by the time I got back, my beloved plants had wilted into submission to the cruelty of early January weather. Icy winds are lashing outdoors and Sun has taken a sabbatical behind the clouds; the warmth of the heating system is helping thaw the body frozen from an outdoor errand. I guess I will have to surf some blogs from the south of equator to give that additional warmth!

Coleus in my Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:33:00 +0000

I guess I will have to concede defeat there – Regular blogging is not easy. I got irregular with posting a number of times in the past, but now becoming irregular has become a regular feature and I feel that regular blogging is not a choice one makes, it’s in the genes. Anyway no more tall claims about getting regular now, I will just stay cool about the regularity issue. Thankfully, tending to plants is not a victim of bloggers’ block. One can be lax in her blogging rituals but the plants keep receiving their due attention. Just like a human baby, who with her innocent look ensures that she remains the centre of attraction, nature has made the plants so beautiful that it is well neigh impossible to neglect them. Foliage plants, like this coleus, hold good hopes of giving the look to a garden during the frigid weather, which lasts here for around a month from December end till January last. The leaves in various wonderful shades of the coleus family keep changing their color tone and in a fortnight they will be the ones providing a colorful ambience, when rest everything will wear a denuded forlorn look. Besides, coleus are a typically no fuss plants: just plant the cuttings, water them…rest is managed by Mother Nature. I wanted to have a coleus dominated landscape this winter providing a nice change from the usual chrysanthemum abundance, but was too lazy to do so…maybe next time.

Red and Yellow make the winters mellow!

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:29:00 +0000

There is a lull in life. It happens every year; round one festive season – Diwali etc. – is over and there are still few days to Christmas and New Year. Thankfully, garden is not yet reflecting the somber winter mood, there is the loving passionate warm glow of red, and mixed with the cheerfulness of yellow, it has created a perfect mood brightening symphony. The Butterfly Weed (Gosh! They call it a weed!) With admix of red and yellow is the perfect cocktail for the spirits. Chrysanthemums bloom in abundance at this time and I try to ensure that there are plenty of them in various hues and shades of yellow and red. We generally get rains around third to fourth week of December and they do not augur well for the mums, but before the frigidity sets in it’s a mum dominated Gardenscape. Even the butterflies are warmed by their red-yellow soothing glow. Sometimes nature tries its hands at origami, and when it does…this is the result. This beautiful Rose, with its wonderful yellow shading and the papery petals, gives the impression of an exquisitely crafted origami specimen. This small, but not insignificant by any measure, Portulaca loves Sun. A typical tropical plant it closes by late afternoon and blossoms again with sunrise the next day- didn’t approve much of the camera coming between it and the Sun.The Heliconias which are typically tropical were a gift by the nuns of a local convent school, who got the plant from Kerala. The plant has thrived well and is another pretty red-yellow combination in the garden. The exuberance of red with a dash of yellow for the tip gives the Gaillardias a glamorous outing in the wintry outdoors. Amidst the relatively dense foliage, embossed, are the cute red-yellow aromatic clusters of lantana. There is a predominantly red-yellow tone in the garden. The warmth of these colors and the gentle sunshine make winters a fun season, but of course only till this colorful landscape lasts…after that it is going to be all grey-white, and outdoors…Brrrrr!!!

The Buddha Belly

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

This laughing Buddha was a wedding gift by a dear friend, and since then it has occupied the pride of place in my drawing room. It is always a warm and happy feeling to look at someone with such a merry expression on the face. Moreover, it is quite heartening to see a well fed rotund belly, resting comfortably on a relaxed and happy body in the era crazy for size zero; I am always on the lookout for such realistic inspirations:-) Like this laughing Buddha, which has made the indoors a gay and happy place, its namesake – Buddha belly plant – has added vivacity to the outdoors.Jatropha podagarica or the Buddha belly plant, as it is known because of its wonderful belly, is an eternal favorite of mine. Whenever it found a place in the posts, it has always received an inquisitive comment from the fellow bloggers. I procured the plant from a local nursery for its merrily swollen belly. It flowers all the year round. During winters, though it loses its large lobed leaves but the coral red flowers hold.As the climate gets colder the leaves have started falling off giving the plant a denuded look but the beauty of the belly will remain unaffected. The plant does have great vibes as is evident from the butterflies flocking to it. My daughter loves it for the seedpods that explode launching the seeds several feet away. Ultimately, this is one happy plant which helps brighten up the mood, and for a good luck charm – I occasionally rub its belly too!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:29:00 +0000

November GBBD is always special as this is the best season here to be outdoors before the frigid December winters envelope the plants in a dense fog, sending them into dormancy or freezing them to death. Although, probably as an adverse effect of global warming, one gets to see blooms in mid December also. These are the plants which grace the garden here in NOVEMBER Portulaca Calliandra or Powder Puff Shrimp plant or Pachystachys lutea Buddha Belly or Jatropha Podagrica Lantana Gaillardia or Blanket Flower PlumeriaWater Lily

In The Night Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:06:00 +0000

As autumn nears to an end, the night air has acquired a slight chill. But despite that it is a pleasant feeling to take an evening walk amidst the plants; it is rejuvenating, de-stressing and, thanks to these sweet smelling plants – a perfectly natural, low cost, aromatherapy. It is rather unfortunate that the sense of smell cannot be conveyed through the blog post, but hopefully the night time photos will stimulate some olfactory nerves to give an idea of the soulful aroma of Plumeria pervading the night time air. The sensual delight of a perfumed garden – no allusion to the 15th century scripture – inspires me to have more of these aromatic plants like this Hedychium. During day the Nyctanthes or Parijata presents a lonely sight, but it is with the fall of dusk that the flowers bloom and start exuding their soulful aroma. The sweet faint odor of this Jasmine pervades the evening air and depending on the direction of airflow, its intensity and character keeps changing, keeping the senses active yet very…very relaxed. The most psychedelic of the pack has to be the queen. Queen of the night or Cestrum nocturnum has the strongest presence in my garden among all the aromatic plants. Every life is besieged with a thousand worries and a million anxieties but the time spent with children and plants is a catharsis brought about naturally, silently and effectively.

My Whacky and Whimsical Containers

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:52:00 +0000

When I did this I was accused of being downright eccentric and whimsical by my family, but now these ‘best out of waste’ ideas look like work of art, at least to me.It was, thanks to some careless handling on a bad mood day that the base of my favorite water flask came off. The sight of the fresh Kiwi fruit on the body had made this flask a much cherished one. So obviously my despair knew no bounds when the base gave away. Not in a mood to throw away something so dear to me, I hit upon the idea of planting some ornamental Asparagus in it. And now the plant is thriving and the flask with the kiwi fruit photo too is all there.What used to be a beautiful lamp once was reduced to a rotund glass structure after meeting its nemesis in my little daughter. One fine day she decided to test the resilience of the lamp by banging the telephone receiver on it; as it turned out, receiver won the mini battle and the lamp was left separated from its neck. And so here it is, sitting pretty in my garden, with a portulaca in it instead of a bulb. This sea shell was brought from Kerala coast, where my hubby had gone on an official trip, and I instantly knew the best use I could put this shell to. So that’s Haworthia in a Sea Shell for youThis one actually is an earthenware pot, which was a ubiquitous presence in Indian households for storing water, before plastics and other synthetic derivatives displaced everything traditional and healthy. Because of the naturally present micro pores in the earthenware pot, it kept water very cool and lend a slight ‘taste’ to the stored water making the water feel very fresh to the palate. As a fond remembrance for the, now vestigial, earthenware pot, I planted a Tradescantia in it, and as the structural material of this pot is same as the conventionally used one, plant is happily thriving. Having read a number of articles about the dangers posed by plastics, I have come to despise them, especially for microwave cooking. I believe that warmth can cause the toxic chemicals from the plastic vessel to enter into food, even with the so called ‘food grade’ plastics. Saying no to plastic for cooking, I used it in my garden! The Portulaca seems to enjoy its modified container.Aromatic tea gave way to beautiful Caladium, as the handle of this cup gave away, and the floral pattern on the cup makes the cup appear at home amidst other plants…or so I hope! Now that is numero uno in the list of my whacky containers. I had a sedum planted in this loofah and had it hang through a support. Having seen me indulge in these whacky, and may be downright atrocious container planting, my hubby says, “I am scared that if I am to stand still for more than 15 min, you might even start entertaining the idea of potting something in me” Now that is so inconsiderate!

My Heart goes Banana...

noreply@blogger.com (Green thumb) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:22:00 +0000

Its time to go bananas again! I was rather impatiently, and with a little apprehension – the fondness of bugs for my fruits has been all too evident in the past - waiting for the bananas to ripen. Fruits are arguably the best thing that comes out of a garden. One can buy a whole bunch of bananas in the market but it is not a patch on a single one produced in your backyard. After all it is not without reason that most of the anecdotes allude to these wonderful gifts [fruits] of nature. Have we ever heard of, ‘reaping the flowers of one’s labor?’ Or may be, ‘tasting the sweet vegetables of success?’ quite obviously these altered proverbs don’t cut any ice with logic. Finally ripen they did. When the bunch of this, potentially creamy, juicy, but now raw green fruit showed slight roundening of borders, I knew that the time was ripe to free the bunch from the branch. Now, here was the catchy part as I had to invest in a kilo of apples from the fruit vendor so that I could put one of those apples with my beautiful bunch to enable ripening. The acetylene gas, which is liberated in whole sale by the apple, helps ripen the bananas quickly. The banana bunch, with the apple, are put in a bucket and covered nicely with a newspaper… Lo and behold! Rich, sweet, creamy, healthy, power packed, absolutely homegrown(but for the solitary apple), bananas are ready…