My balcony garden

Pruning Idea needed

2011-06-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
My hibiscus (the queen) is outgrowing my balcony(Actually it is not but it is getting too tall).. I has almost reached 6 ft and I need to keep it short. I see it being less productive also now as you can see from the picture. Can I get suggestions for pruning from my blogger friends? Other ideas are also welcome.

Trees

2011-04-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

What I would ideally like to do is to catalog all the Gulmohur trees in Indiranagar. There are so many of them. Each one looking so different and so beautiful. So next week I will try to capture as many pictures of the Gulmohurs as possible and post them on the blog. If I remember the location( I do not have those snazzy phones that can track location) and post it and you can find it if you are in Bangalore. Hopefully I am able to capture their magic in digital form. Meanwhile here are some pictures to enjoy. If you can tell me the names of some of these trees that would be wonderful. And I am definitely expecting replies from the tree expert @ Trees, Plants and More

And btw, the pigeon, before it took flight

The beautiful Rain Tree... A sight to see especially from a higher point say a few floors high. The spread of green and beautiful shade of red/pink on the flowers is just amazing. The tree spreads itself over a large diameter and has such beautiful branching.
All pictures are of Rain Trees from 100ft Road Indiranagar, Bangalore

The flowers of the Rain Tree

Rain tree flanked by a flowerless gulmohur in front.

Trying to capture the beauty of the colors.

And finally the brances and its majestic cover.

Are these Cherry Blossom?

Found close to the 12th Main/100ft Rd Junction @ Indiranagar while moving towards 100ft road from 80 ft road.

And what are these?

These were from the tree on a cross road on 12th Main

Common Tree but what is it called?

Hopefully I get some pictures of Gulmohur for my next post before they lose their flowers.

Back after a while

2011-04-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

Summer heat is picking up in Bangalore and flowers are going crazy on the trees by the roadside. I have not been writing for a while. My trip to Austin was successful and once I got back the first week the was fully jet lagged. Could not get out of bed at all. Then a period of unbelievable laziness followed. No muscle was moved without there being an absolute requirement :). Some important decisions to be made and life moves on.
The gulmohurs have started blooming in Bangalore (I noticed this a couple of weeks back). One pigeon baby had gone missing right after I left for the US and the other one has now flown away. Will update pictures soon. Plants are doing well and my Neem Bonsai has completely revamped itself. All old branches have fallen and replaced by new ones. And I am getting back on my toes and started giving attention to plants and hence the blog. Got some interesting feedback on the rose pruning from Rough.Rosa whose blog on roses is so good.
This is a no picture post and will be uploading once the muscles move to transfer them from the camera to the computer.

The Pigeon Chronicles

2011-03-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

This happened on Thursday. My son was the first to notice and got pretty excited about it.

And this today.

After the first one I was trying to see any signs of hatching in the second one regularly. But looks like the pigeon decided to come out very early in the morning.

I am leaving for the US in a couple of hours time. I thought I would miss these guys but looks like they came out right on time.
Will post from Texas next, an update on the pruned rose plant.

Pruning Roses

2011-02-25T02:34:00.000-08:00

The cold season is over in Bangalore. My roses slowed down their blooming sometime in December except for the yellow master performer. It had a strong basal cane and was producing flowers pretty well. But aphids attacked it and its vigor went down. A strong spray of water helped in getting rid of the aphids but the plant was looking like a mess. All my other roses were also collecting pests. Here is one of the rose plants covered by a web made by who know what. So I decided to start pruning them all. I noticed that some of the other plants that I pruned recently had started showing buds(Jasmine, Bougainvillea etc) and that made me more confident about pruning the rose plants. Most of them are reduced to a couple of small branches now.

In this post I am going to focus on the pruning and after effects on the yellow rose which is the best and my favorite rose plant in the balcony.

I cut of most of the basal cane and left a basal stem that was about ¾ ft long, and I pruned several other branches. Last year I did the same thing to this plant though there were no basal canes at that time. It seemed to take it pretty well and also grew well in 2010. Here is a snapshot of how the plant looks after pruning. This was around the first week of February.

Within a couple of days I saw new branches sprouting out and vigorous growth in the plant. In about 10 days, this was how the rose plant looked.

About 3 weeks from pruning the plant looks like this.

Now that there is sufficient foliage, I added a good dose of compost(handful) and commercially available organic rose mix(a few spoonfuls). In a week I am going to apply some banana peel shake(ues you read it right) to see if that is going to help the flowering. I had written about Pachagavya earlier and how it was helping the roses. I have not used it for more than a quarter and can see significant difference in the growth and vigor of the plants. The panchagavya was definitely helping. Right now I have no stock so I am living with what I have.

This is probably the best time to prune the roses in Bangalore/Chennai as the weather is not too hot to dry or damage the young leaves. Infact I should have pruned them in the middle of January. Anyway these are roses and they will definitely grow back. I also kept an eye on any suckers that arise during the growth process as they will “suck out” the energy of the productive part of the plant. They typically look like this(Rose experts, correct me if I am wrong).

This was one of the few rose plants from the garden that was not grafted when we got it from the nursery. I think it was rooted from a cutting(if that works well for roses) or propagated by some other means but definitely not grafting. The basal cane comes right from the bottom of the plant(almost under the soil) and that is why I am assuming that it was not grafted. Also as a sapling it did not have any signs of tape on it.

The remaining rose plants which are grafted are also doing well after pruning but this guy just races ahead like a rocket in comparison. Don’t know if that determines anything about the way the roses perform.

Hopefully I start seeing flowers in a couple of weeks time. I will keep updating

I will update pictures of flowers which I hope should show up in the next week or so.

Roses are definitely not EMG in comparison to the other plants I have written about. Coming to the topic of EMG, now that we have about 6 posts on that topic it is time for those of you who are still looking at building your garden to put a plan together and create your own space. Next post will start working on that.

EMG: Geraniums

2011-02-24T00:37:00.000-08:00

P.S. I was looking up the Wikipedia article on Geraniums and there seems to be some confusion. These are generally called Geraniums here but in the US these plants are called Pelargoniums. If you go to a nursery here and ask for Pelargoniums they will not send you back empty handed. But asking for Geraniums will get you these plants. You can read the corresponding Wikipedia articles here and here

Geraniums are an amazing plants for a home with atleast a couple of hours of sunlight. These plants do very well in containers and come in various colors. They can be overwatered or even ignored for a couple of days and still do pretty well. They grow very well in containers and do not invade your garden space by spreading out horizontally or vertically. No pruning, no bugs and not much care. What else can we ask for in a EMG plant.

The entire blooming process itself is very beautiful. The stem grows out longer and pearl like structures show up. They bloom one by one and last for a few days. Geraniums also make great border plants. They can be fed a handful of compost once a month and like moist soil. These can also be used as border plants in large spaces by planting the various colored varieties in sequence.

Some pictures of the ones at home.

A close up of the flowers

The hanging variety of the Geranium.

The pearl like structures from which the flowers bloom

Opening ceremony

All bloomed

And a picture of my Geranium collection. The pink and white ones are a few months old in the garden, the red one in the foreground is more than a year old and is still only about a foot high. Blooms throughout the year. The hanging pot is not in the pic. In the left background you can see the heavily pruned Jasmine plant.

Geraniums as border plants.

Scented geraniums are also available but I do not have them at home nor have I found them at local nurseries. Need to check if Lalbagh has any

Geraniums Summary

Light: Sunlight definitely required for atleast a couple of hours a day.
Watering: Very tolerant for overwatering. Either water lightly on a daily basis or thoroughly every couple of days. In summer you may have to water it more than once depending on how much sun it is getting.
Plant does not need any kind of pruning at all. It maintains a certain size and does not grow more than a foot tall in your pot. Larger the pot, larger the plant.
Add a handful of compost to the soil every month to improve the texture of the soil and also help the plant.

This should do well in any sunny area and should be possible to grow all around India. Its non-invasive growth makes it a wonderful plant to have in the balcony.

The Pigeon Chronicles - II

2011-02-23T23:51:00.000-08:00

So last week I was observing Mr & Mrs Pigeon and the egg. Mr. Pigeon is usually not around. To my surprise the egg had become the eggs. So here is the updated nest.

I read on the internet that it takes around 18 days for the eggs to hatch. That should happen sometime between Mar 01-10th. I will be traveling for a week during that time and may not be around to enjoy the new chicks. But my wife will definitely capture the pics and I will post them once I am back.

The Pigeon Chronicles

2011-02-14T01:29:00.000-08:00

I am a regular reader of "Trees Plants & More". Recent posts have been about "The pigeon saga" where she has been posting about a pigeon's nest in her balcony. It was really exciting to get updates regularly and to see how the pigeons were doing. In an amazing coincidence I noticed some twigs lying in our large windowsill early last week. While at home, I also noticed a pigeon adding twigs to the stack over there. I was really excited and realized what I could see soon. As expected an egg came and soon a pigeon was sitting on it. All at home are waiting in anticipation to see the young one.

Quality of photos is a little bad as I am taking it from behind a glass. Do not want to disturb the pigeons by opening the window. Will try to get better pictures once the young ones are seen and the parent pigeons are not around.

Some publicity for blog

2011-02-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

The blog was first featured on TIP homes, an extremely popular interior design blog in India. The variety and frequency of posts on the website is just amazing. Ofcourse it is a very dangerous website to show to your wives as you might have to make a quick trip to the furniture/home decor stores :)
Here's the link

http://indiehome.blogspot.com/2010/12/garden-blogger-brigade-new-green-army.html
This feature was mentioned in Dec 2010 just before the New Year and I never got to mention it here.

The next mention was an interesting one. Getting a mention in the National newspaper is a pretty big deal. I would like to thank Anusha(from The Hindu) for getting in touch to mention my name in the article. The blog is what got her attention and she got in touch with me through it. Obviously there are very many expert gardeners out there but then very flew bloggers. So I guess I was lucky. Though there is no mention of the blog there, the name figures. I also was able to sneak in one photo with yours truly in there. The remaining pictures are those of another enthusiastic balcony gardener.

Here's the link to the article,
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/homes-and-gardens/article1116638.ece
Here's the link to the photo
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/homes-and-gardens/article1116638.ece?viewImage=5

and here's the full article

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Life & Style » Homes & Gardens

Published: January 23, 2011 00:05 IST | Updated: February 8, 2011 17:18 IST January 23, 2011

Blooming balconies

Anusha Parthasarathy

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The Hindu A cozy balcony with seating. Photo: Ishrath Humairah

Living in an apartment? Love growing plants? Don’t’ be disheartened, balcony gardens can help you get close to Nature, writes Anusha Parthasarathy

Fairy lights twinkling from a branch highlighting gradient strokes of green, billowy leaves of potted plants, dabs of bright colours on blooming buds and the swaying shadows of passive life; you could throw in a chair or two to bask in its shady haven even if you are in an apartment couple of floors above the ground.

Balcony gardens are fast becoming a way not just to pursue a hobby but also to bring patches of green into an apartment. A few simple decorative items and a good choice of plants can make a world of difference.

Ishrath Humairah, a healthcare professional and co-founder of Tree Souls, makes sure she has her dose of green everywhere. “It is not about the size of the balcony but what you do with it that matters. People with big balcony can have a sprawling garden while those who have space constraints can go for vertical garden walls,” she says.

Natrajan Sridharan, who has converted the 10ft by 5 ft balcony in his home into a green zone, says, maintaining a balcony garden is simple. “The exciting aspect is that there are many types of designs, plants, pots, garden accessories available. You just need a good idea.”

Perhaps, the most important part is to know what kind of plants would suit a constrained space and variable temperature. Says M.M. Hussain , ex-general secretary of Indian Nurserymen Association and Indian Rose Federation, “Choosing plants depends on where your balcony is. It is not advisable to have fixed planters. Go for pots that are 10 inches, to 15 inches wide. It makes shifting and water-proofing easy. Also the soil should be very porous so that it retains moisture and the plants get more water. Well-decomposed manure is a must too.

Hussain explains how the amount of sunlight varies according to geographical directions. “A north-facing balcony gets no sunlight so it makes sense to grow foliage there. Shade loving plants and creepers/climbers are another option. A balcony facing the East gets mild sun up to 11 a.m. So there can be both foliage and flowering plants. Hibiscus could be a good plant to grow on such a balcony. South and West facing balconies get abundant sun. They are a haven for flowering plants. But in summer, you’ll need to take them inside for sometime.”

Chandramouli S has transformed a small section of his apartment into a private garden. “I’ve always wanted to grow plants and it almost seemed impossible in an apartment. But after visiting a few blogs on gardening, I was inspired and arranged about 40 plants on a portion of the terrace. My garden has been slowly growing in size. Adds Ishrath, ”Invest in plants that can thrive in your city conditions. It is ridiculous to buy seeds from Ooty gardens and plant them in homes here. But at the same time you should keep experimenting, for Nature always springs surprises.”

Natrajan points towards the hype about ‘going green’. He says gardens are not eco-friendly unless organic pesticides such as neem oil, compost from kitchen wastes and proper watering methods are used. I would love to help set-up gardens and also help maintain them.” Ishrath also suggests other ways to go ‘green’ — “Invest in solar powers lights, use mud and terracotta pots instead of plastic and put-up khus or bamboo curtains to keep the place cool. Recycle your kitchen or bath water for your balcony garden.”

And once the plants are in place, decorate the space with some garden accessories. Ishrath suggests bamboo furniture, futons, wicker stools, swings, hammocks, wind chimes and accent pots. “You can also embellish with paintings, murals, terracotta tree art, wrought iron furniture or wall hangings, mirrors, tree trunks, dried flower arrangements, and more. Keep a few flowering plants to attract birds and bees for cross-pollination. Add a bird feeder/ bath. Let your creativity run riot and watch your garden bloom.

Planting an idea

North-facing: Dieffenbachias, Aglaonimas, Philodendrons (bushy and climbing), Syngonium, Scindapsus and Marantas (suitable for humid climate)

East-facing: Impatiens, Spathiphyllum, Anthuriums, Saintpaulia (African Violets), Hibiscus and foliage plants such as Chlorophytum, Ophiopogonis, Eranthumum, graphatophyllums and Aralias

South-and West-facing: Pachystachys, Plumbago, Lantanas, Bougainvilleas, Ixoras inclusive of potted roses, Button roses, Taberna Montanas, Hamelias, Gulphimia, Petunias and Clematis

And the zoomed in version of my pic... :)

Pest Question

2011-01-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

Any idea what these are. They look like small round half spheres that are stuck to the branch of my hibiscus. I noticed some bud drop recently and while looking closer to investigate found these guys all over the trunk. Dont know what they are doing there and if that was causing the bud drop.

Any help is appreciated.

Roses

2011-01-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Each time I sit down to write about roses, there is some kind of distraction or the other. The empty post with only the title has been sitting in the "edit posts" section for so long. So I thought that at the turn of the year, I can start writing this post.
My wife's favorite flowers are roses. The rose was the first plant that we got in our old house. I had no idea how to maintain it. When we got it from the nursery it had a few buds and some wonderful flowers. Within a week the buds opened and bloomed. And then there were none. Slowly the plant succumbed to pests and died. We got one more (I think it was pink or another shade of red) and it ended up with the same result. Growing roses was going to be harder than I thought. Just watering it was not going to be enough. After talking tp the folks at the nursery I came back home with some urea and chemical pesticides. The chemical pesticides were really strong and I stopped using them. However, the urea turned out to be useful. The next rose plant lasted longer and we saw new buds coming up after a while. After sometime the plant stopped flowering. but there was a lot off foliage. Again slowly it dried out. I then realized that the varieties that have large flowers were not doing well in pots. Similar plants which were grown on the ground did very well and the flowers were blooming profusely. And keeping in my mind that I do not want to waste space with too many large pots I could not grow these very well. So what does a container gardener like me do?

Just as we were giving up on hope of having rose plants in the house, I got some button roses. The yield was good and the plants were blooming once in a while though not as profusely. Once we moved into our new home, I was able to understand the plants better. Roses require sunlight. They were sensitive to water requirements and nutrient requirements. With proper pruning do very well.. The rose is one plant which I am very confident will do well after a good round of pruning. The plants need to be checked for pests regularly. I only use neem oil, soap and a hard spray of water to keep the pests at bay. Refreshing the soil with compost and Rose Mix was required every two weeks(both available at most nurseries). This would keep the plants in good health and slowly lead to growth of "basal canes". Basal canes yield lot of flowers and are very strong. I also noticed that they produce lots of branches and in turn lots of flowers.

I also had to learn the watering pattern for the roses. Sometimes the soil would dry out quickly during summer and the buds would droop down. Immediate watering would help(within a few hours), however if left dry for more than half a day after these flowers droop the plant gets damaged severly and may not recover at all. I will leave you with the pictures of various roses that we have had over time. I have now restricted myself to growing button roses. Have been successful the last 8 months or so. Hope to see this trend continue.

One of the best rose plants we every had. It would have a minimum of 10-15 flowers at any time. We lost the plant to lack of care while moving homes.

The current best performer in my balcony. I had pruned this down to almost a stem last February after a bout of pests. It has been doing very well since then. Second round of pruning due next week.

The "Paneer rose" or the "Scented Rose". Did well initially(nursery syndrome) and then it went down to ants.

Another star performer in the balcony. Multicolor wonder.

Roses are red ofcourse.

This was one big flower which bloomed well. Lost this one during my trip to Singapore.

The star performer again.

Healthy competition.

In summary,

1. Prune the plant once the flowering season is done. They will take a couple of months to produce new flowers.Watch your skin/clothes while pruning. The thorns can get nasty sometimes.
2. Removing the flowers after they dry helps keep the plant clean. Roses especially look very bad if this is not done regularly.
3. Rose Mix(Organic) application is required on a fortnightly basis. Good compost is also required. The response of the rose plants are directly proportional to the nutrition feeding.
4. Bud roses are good plants for the balcony gardener
5. Keep checking for pests. Spider mites get to roses and can bring the plant down quickly.Spray the plants with water once a week or more frequently if pests occur often. Neem oil every fortnight or weekly is good.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T03:45:00.000-08:00

A snippet of what is to come in the first post for next year.

Happy New Year !!!!

Singapore Orchids

2010-12-28T06:19:00.000-08:00

So we got back from our wonderful trip to Singapore and Malaysia last weekend. It was hectic as we wanted to cover as much as possible but was worth it. The one thing that amazed me about Singapore was the amount of greenery on the roads and surrounding areas. The second thing(actually the most impressive thing) was how orchids were growing in Singapore. Any place you go to, they have orchids in display. Just like we have chrysanthemums or roses bunches here in India, the Singaporeans have orchids instead. I never expected this in the trip and was completely awed by the display of these beautiful flowers.

We were just wowed by the variety. I have always been impressed by the orchids and wanted to try growing them here. Never started off as it would be pretty expensive to begin with. I also do not know the quality of the plants that they sell at some of the local nurseries. Just last week, a fellow Indian blogger had written about Orchids in her garden. Now that is very interesting and coincidental. It is like a message from the flowers saying that I need to start growing them here. Not sure how they will handle the Bangalore weather though. Let us see. I got to see only a small section of the garden due to lack of time and energy. It was a hot and humid day. So the number of pictures are limited. Please do click and see the full size pictures to enjoy the beauty of the orchids.

One of the most impressive displays of Orchids was at the Changi airport which we saw when we were leaving Singapore. Unfortunately I did not capture good enough photos to be put on display here. Thankfully, our orchid master has some pictures of the Airport Orchids here.

Travel Plans to Singapore and Malaysia

2010-12-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

The end of the year has been very busy. The weather also has been very cold and various strains of common cold spreading around. Garden has been last on the list with time at office being highest on the priority list. We have been planning a vacation to Singapore & Malaysia and I will be travelling from the 14th. Most of the time will be in Singapore and we will reach Malaysia on the 21st. Just two days in KL before returning home. Hoping to see the orchid gardens in Singapore and the popular insect farm in Malaysia. Will update pictures once we get back from the trip.

Is container gardening really eco-friendly?

2010-11-24T03:33:00.000-08:00

The trend now is to go green. As you can see(from the weblink of this blog), I have also been victim to this trend. Not a bad thing definitely but it is like a fashion statement if we say that "I am a very green person". And the easiest way for people go green is by keeping a few plants in their living/working spaces. Of late, I have been having my own doubts about how "GREEN" container gardening really is. I pursue gardening as a hobby. Even before I got into gardening, I was concious about my use of water, plastics and electricity, and I thought gardening definitely would be too. However, I have come to realise that it is not that easy to give back to nature what you take from it. Let me elaborate,
1. Watering
Container Gardens require regular watering. All plants do and especially since your plants cannot grow roots deeper than the pots, they need frequent watering. Depending on the location it can be between, once in two days to twice everyday. Where does this water come from. In case of apartments in bangalore/chennai(especially the newer ones), this water is supplied through taps. What a revelation? Well actually, the ground water is processed through a water softening plant and then supplied to the apartments. During the softening process a lot of water goes waste as the process itself calls for it. Also, the efficiency of the watering very low, i.e. if we pour a litre of water in the pot, the actual water that gets used up for the plants benefit that day is probably around 20-30%. Rest goes back up in the air. This is just for one pot. Imagine people with large number of pots in their balconies (including your truly).
Ok, so water is wasted. The eco friendliness quotient for the garden is going down slowly
2. Nutrition
Containers cannot retain the nutrition content as effectively as for those plants in the ground due to runaway. When we water the plants in containers, the nutrient content also gets washed away. This means we need to add more nutrition, more frequently to the containers to get those nice looking flowers, fruits and vegetables.
I was first advised by folks at the nurseries I go to to add enrich the nutrition content by adding NPK based fertilizers. I used it once and I realized that it is best avoided. The impact we create by using these fertilizers is just unfathomable. The amount of effort and energy it goes into producing these chemicals is huge. Remember those tall pipes that throw poisonous gases high into the atmosphere. Most of them are in some way related to our daily activities, one of them being the manufacturing of NPK fertilizers.These are not safe for handling especially with kids around. So it is best to keep it away from the garden. Also, due to the runaway, the water that seeps out of these containers goes back into the drains and God knows where. Definitely causing more harm to the environment. I cannot help but say that the quotient has gone down again.

3. Pests
If you have a garden full of plants, you are bound to have pests, and all pests are not the same. Again, first line of advice from nurseries, use chemical pesticides. This was a definite no-no for me. But people do use it. So quotient going down further.
4. Materials
Let me end my negativity with this 4th item. Container gardening requires materials and so does non-container gardening. However, here we need pots, which sometimes end up being in plastic or concrete for convenience requirements. I am sure you all have heard enough about plastic and know how much effort it takes to make the concrete. Everything we buy as supplements to the garden comes wrapped in plastic boxes/container and covers. Quotient has hit rock bottom so let me stop here for now.

So there we are, thinking of all this I could not help but feel whether things are headed in the right direction. So, instead of just writing down problems, we can think of solutions too.

1. Watering
Understand the plants requirements over a period of time and water them. If possible installing a drip irrigation system will help reduce the water consumption significantly. And ofcourse a very popular method as reminded by Kanak from Nature Rambles is using the waste water from the kitchen. This requires a little effort to keep a storage container to collect the water each time we wash vegetables or other food items. For those large trees the water from the last rinse while washing clothes(if we are washing by hand) will also work.

2. Nutrients
Organic Manure produced using composting is probably the most recyclable process that exists today. It helps improve soil texture and provides sufficient nutrients to the plant. Excess application is not going to damage the plants. However, if we are getting this from stores/outlets then the plastic packaging comes into play. A good way to avoid this is to carry our own bags to the source of compost. The best way would be to be able to make compost at home.

3. Pests
Chemical pesticides are a strict no-no for me. I use neem oil and sometime just a hard spray of water to dislodge the pests.(this brings back point 1, but is a much better alternative to pesticides). Companion planting is also a good method to help keep away pests.

4. Materials
Handmade terracotta pots are a great solution. Only where strength/size is a concern it would make sense to go for concrete pots. Plastic pots are best avoided. Better to carry our own bags to acquire the materials we need.

What else do you think makes container gardening non-eco friendly. What are the solutions. Do you have any novel ideas for the problems mentioned above.?

But all negatives apart, it is really relaxing to spend some time looking at the plants grow and produce beautiful flowers. Getting the hands dirty in soil is also a good experience. Gardening is an amazing hobby to have. It creates a great sight for the eye and definitely improves the air around us. Happy Gardening.

EMG: Sun Rose, Sun Plant, Table Rose

2010-10-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Do you have a space in your balcony which receives some sunlight. Would you like to add a wonderful array of colors to the garden with minimum effort. Would you like to keep the plant small and tidy and would you like this color to just pop up every day. Well then one of the best choices for you would be the Sun rose or table rose. I am still trying to confirm if the correct name for these are Helianthemums. This plant grows very well in regular or hanging pots. They do not need very big pots to grow as they do not spread their roots very much. They toil everyday and produce flowers which bloom during the day and close by evening. Next day a fresh bunch will bloom. You can find them in different colors orange, red, pink, magenta and accordingly decorate your garden with them. They are not very fussy about water requirements and definitely prefer being watered less than over watering. Use soil with sufficient drainage and do not allow the base to be wet or retain water. Make sure these folks get sunshine for a couple of hours and your balcony will be filled with radiant colors. The flowers are small, about a couple of centimeters in diameter but the density is what really adds the color. You can plant them in groups in the same pot to compliment each other too. I have noticed that weeds grow profusely in pots with these plants and casues degradation in plant quality over time. Carefully deweed the pot and add some flowering agent monthly if you think the density of flowers are going down. A definite addition to the Easy Maintenance Garden (EMG). Some pictures from my collection of these plants.

Tomato - At a loss for words

2010-10-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

So I am writing this post on my tomato plants. About how unsuccessful I have been with them and my plans to discontinue vegetable gardening. Then this shows up today. The wife has a sharp eye for such things in the garden. I was nothing short of tears when she showed me this.

My first tomato starting to grow.
Dont know how it is going to figure out, but I will cherish this photograph forever. Will provide history of this plant in another post.

Difficult Dahlias

2010-10-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

I love to grow flowering plants in containers. The amount of color they add to the surroundings is just amazing. I love to tend to them and watch their different stages of bloom. I have listed out a lot of the flowering plants in my blog under the label "Plants from my Balcony". Most of my flowers can be commonly found in many gardens.
I have been writing a series on Easy Maintenance Garden EMG to get more people who are interested in having flowers in their balconies/gardens but are not sure what to get. Starting with these flowers can help in developing more interest in gardening and slowly you will realize that you are becoming an expert at choosing your flowers and plants. Hopefully more people read the EMG series and put more plants in their garden. As with nature and the law of opposites, there is also plants that are not so easy to maintain.
One of the plants that I am having lot of difficulty with are the Dahlias. I love the variety of flowers that the plant can provide. The plants are a little flimsy but the flowers they produce are just beautiful. I structure of the flower has such elegance about it, such pattern and such color. The first time I saw it in a nursery, I wanted to get it. However, after a few weeks, I noticed some whitish patterns on the leaves. Before I knew it the plant stopped producing flowers and died. I thought I would do better growing Dahlias from seeds. Well, the seeds did sprout and the plants did grow. But after a few flowers, the plants are now looking weak and slowly I can see them fading away. I feed them with sufficient nutrition, and water them well. I do not allow the soil to be wet for long as I read about Dahlias not liking wet feet. But something is not right. Would appreciate feedback from those who have been successful at growing Dahlias. Would like some help?

Meanwhile enjoy pictures of some Dahlias I had earlier.

Magic Potion

2010-10-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

I have used chemical pesticides and plant enhancers in the past. Only a couple of times. I realized that these were not dilute solutions, but heavily concentrated chemicals that needed to be handled with extreme care. Since my garden is a balcony garden it makes it all the more dangerous to use such chemicals as it lingers around your breathing space very much. The NPK fertilizers that are used are also heavy on chemicals and are harmful to the environment all the way from manufacturing to usage in the garden.
After realizing the effects of these chemical pesticides and fertilizers, I decided that I definitely would not use them. I realized this early in my gardening experience. Since going organic was the trend, I thought why not join the bandwagon. Especially since it would do less harm to the environment. I started reading about compost and organic mixes and started using them. However, the results were not amazing. My plants did reasonably well but they did not show much vigor in growth. One miss at watering them and I would find them drooping down, threatening to die. The compost was easy to use and I did not have to cover my face or make sure that I was using less than the prescribed amount to make sure that I was not harming either the plants or myself or any apartments around mine. I also like the texture of compost very much. I handle it directly by hand though many people would not prefer to do that. The compost was doing its job but I realized that the plants could definitely look healthier.
So after doing some research I found out about this solution called Panchagavya. It is a age old formula that has been passed down generations . It is as old as the vedas, it is like yoga, ayurveda or siddha medicine which are all early wisdom of ancestors that were recorded millenia before our generation. Various formulas are prescribed for different purposes. Some religious and some domestic. The domestic method of preparation is used to make Panchagavya for farming. A lot of people that I have spoken to about this make funny faces when they hear about it. What they dont realize that this is less harmful(though not edible) than what they eat for lunch. It is made using 5 components obtained from the cow. To those outside of India, the cow is considered a holy animal and is treated with great respect here in our country. For many millenia, farmers have been using the cow for various purposes. They have also formulated the making of Panchagavya which is used for providing nutrition to the plants. It is made from the 5 basic components, cow dung, cow urine, milk, cow ghee(clarified butter), and curd. I guess all these components must be obtained from the same cow. The formulations and details are available on the internet. One of the popular formulations is made by Dr. K. Natarajan from a place called Erode.
Anyway after starting to use this solution 3% solution(i.e. 3ml in a litre of water) every week, the vigor in my plants have improved, they are more tolerant if I miss watering them once, and also are responsive in terms of flowering. I get my solution from the author of Panchagavya. He has been kind enough to provide me the solution each time he makes it. It does require some maintenance though as it is supposed to contain lot of microorganisms. You need to store it in a plastic container and keep it aerated. It needs to be stirred on a daily basis for a few minutes. I would not attribute all the credit to the panchagavya as I have also been focusig on the plants on a more regular basis. However, I do see a difference between plants where I use it and where I dont. So my trials so far have shown good results and I would say that this is a good addition to any gardener who wants to grow their plants completely organically.

This post has been in edit mode for a long time and hence looks pretty distorted and loses continity and flow very often. Apologize if the details are not enough and I will be glad to provide more if required.

Gardening A Game

2010-10-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

There seems to be an interesting game that is helping find fellow bloggers. I have a long list of blogs that I am following in my blogroll list. I have more on my google reader. Probably forty blogs that I am followingon my reader. Anyway going to the details of the game, I should list of "10 things I enjoy doing" and "list 10 other bloggers to join this game. I was invited to this game by "J.C from http://mysunnyhappygarden.blogspot.com/ from Malaysia" and "Denise from http://denisenoniwa.weebly.com/ from the Netherlands through Blotanical". Here is the list....not is any specific order

1. I love Hibiscus flowers. I love to grow them and experiment with their growth. I have around six different varieties/colors of hibiscus in my balcony. I am finding out that I have more fun with flowering plants than vegetables ones. However, I would love to own a piece of land where I can cultivate various types of vegetables.

2. I like to repot my plants, I love the texture of cocopeat and comopost and enjoy handling them while repotting my plants.

3. I love to spend time with family. Just relax at home especially with my sweet little son.

4. I really enjoy watching Rajni movies. The latest being Endhiran. You can find out more about it on the internet and in my other blog

5. I enjoy taking a long drive to any place.

6. I love to take pictures of Trees around the city.

7. I enjoy looking at the different balcony gardens that people have around Bangalore.

8. I love to work continuously for 3 days without sleep.

9. I would really like to be able to help people set up gardens(especially balcony gardens) in their homes and also help them maintain them.

10. Most of all I love to find new information on the internet everyday on gardening tips .

I invite the following bloggers to join this game.

A truly inspiring set of bloggers who are inspring many folks in India to grow vegetables in containers and at home
1. GG - Bangalore, India
2. Raja Panda - Bangalore, India
One of my most favorite balcony garden bloggers
3. Sue Swift - Milan, Italy
Pictures speak a thousand words. A very informative blog with flowers and associated names.
4. Trees, Plants and more... - Bangalore, India
Another wonderful gardening blog
5. Terra farmer - Bangalore, India
I really wonder how many different plants Jim has
6. Garden Adventures - Jim from the US.
7.Dhara the Earth - Delhi, India
8.The Urban Gardener - Mumbai, India
9. Good Earth - Bangalore India
Not really a gardening blog but a nice one on design
dressyourhome - Bangalore, India

The rule of this game is to:
1) Inform who invite you
2) What are the 10 things you like to do
3) Invite another 10 other bloggers

Vegetables at work

2010-09-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

I mean literally. I work in this nifty campus in East Bangalore. One of my first observations on entering the campus was that they have a nice herb garden and vegetable garden. There is one section of the real estate that is dedicated to grow edible stuff. This is a small portion compared to the size of the building, but this is the first time I am seeing this anywhere in Bangalore. Till about a few months back I was always of the impression that vegetables are grown on the ground. Never considered container grown vegetables seriously till I started garden last November. I was also surprised to see a lot of fellow bloggers growing there own vegetables. Some of them in balconies smaller than what I have here. Anyway since I have been more of a flower person(wife plays a big role here), my balcony is filled with flowering pots. I am just seed starting some vegetables and hopefully will have some content in the next few months that I can write about.
Coming to the point of this post, the facility management takes good care of the garden in the office and grow different variety of vegetables every quarter. Once they yield well, they replace them with other seeds. When I joined, the vegetable garden was full of tomatoes. Now the dominant vegetable is the Ladies Finger(Okra). Some pictures that I clicked recently.

Ladies Finger(Okra)

The flower from the Ladies Finger

Looks very much like the Hibiscus while it is opening

The ladies finger at various stages of growth

Radish(Absolutely beautiful foliage)

Close up of the radish growth(I think almost ready for harvest)

Beans

~~Closeup of the beans(long type)~~
Capsicum flowering (Corrected by GoodEarth)

Pomegranate(I am growing this at home too), check it out

Another variety of ladies finger(leaves are much thinner, may be better for container gardening)

What is this one? Any ideas?
Guava (Blur Ting's observation)

African Tulips

2010-09-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

After the season of Gulmohurs, it is time for the African Tulip to paint the skyline in Bangalore orange. I will be visiting Chennai this weekend and will find out if these trees are coloring the city there too. These are much bigger than the gulmohur. The shape of the flower is very interesting. They have a beautiful claw like the eagle that holds the beautifully shaped flower. These also carpet the ground with their colors. As usual I found these all throughout Bangalore. I had to attend a function on the other side of Bangalore and found these everywhere.
Next thing to do is to wait for the seeds.

And lo and behold

2010-09-16T03:02:00.000-07:00

My garden springs a surprise on me.
Two events:
1.I started setting this garden up in November/December 2009. That is when we moved into our home. The orange hibiscus has been one of the hardiest and most productive plants in my balcony. It was also the first one we bought for the balcony.
2. Sometime in April.... We give our son pomegranate juice in the mornings during summer time. I juice the pomegranate seeds in the blender, this extracts all the liquid/gel out, then filter the seeds and give the juice to my son. I usually eat the seeds that remain in the filter.( I love pomegranates)
How are these two events related? Read on...

One day, I was on the phone in the balcony, with the ground seeds in one hand and phone in the other. I absent mindedly put some seeds into the hibiscus pot thinking they will decompose soon and act as manure. I forgot about this after that day.

A couple of weeks later I noticed some growth at the base of the hibiscus plant. I was under the assumption they were weeds and left them for cleaning over the weekend. Fast comes the weekend and time for de-weeding. To my surprise, this "weed" was not there in any other pot. Only this one pot with the hibiscus plant. Again I left the "weeds" there. Some weeds can give interesting flowers(post later).

The "weeds" kept growing and suddenly I was reminded of this phone conversation/seeding that I had done some weeks earlier. I just could not contain the excitement realizing that I had done. Could it be possible that my pomegranate seeds that underwent all the torture through the blender managed to germinate? Am I growing pomegranate in my home? This was just awesome. Laptop opens up immediately and google starts getting queries on pomegranate leaf shape. And lo and behold, there stood my pomegranate plant, intertwined with the base of the orange hibiscus. I also had a visiting friend confirm that they were indeed pomegranate saplings. Once that was confirmed, I let them grow till I felt they were strong enough to be pulled out without affecting either their root or the hibiscus plant(my wifes favorite). Now this one sits in its own pot with a few saplings planted together. I think I will try to make a Bonsai out of one of them. The others, I need to figure out some space to grow a small tree in the balcony.

Hopefully, I will be able to make pomegranate juice few seasons from now from a home grown tree.

Enjoy some pics of the pomegranate and hibiscus together. I still do not pics of the separate pomegranate plant. Will upload it over the weekend.

EMG: Periwinkle

2010-09-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

The periwinkle is the plant that requires least care in my balcony. The care produce ratio for this is very high. Minimum care, but very good results. I have not attended to it for soil improvement (compost) or flowering agents for nearly the last 45 days. All it needs is its quota of water, but it has been doing really well. It is in a 6 inch pot and I have restricted its growth to less that a foot in height. Currently it has around 10 flowers at any point in time. I think this will make very good border plants. You can find it in most nurseries here in Bangalore. It comes in various colors. My first one and the most common one is the beautiful shade of pink.Pruning is not required frequently and that too minimal when required. You can prune down the oddly growing branch to give better shape to the plant. The flowers are not the only beautiful part of the plant, even the foliage, the shape of the leaves and its color and texture are so nice. This plant does well in both shade and sunlight. However, it requires atleast a couple of hours of sunlight a day for it to flower well. Just make sure the soil has good drainage and you have a beauty that you have to water everyday and that is all. If you have the time, adding compost and flowering mix every couple of months will help the growth of the plant. Oh, before I forget, this is one plant with which I have not had any pest problems so far.

This is definitely a great addition to the easy maintenance garden balcony.

This is a plant at a petrol bunk on the way back home from office. Amazing foliage and flowers.

This is a new color that I got recently.

Losing plants

2010-09-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Last week was relatively easy time with the plants. Could not focus on them much due to poor health. Fortunately they did not need much watering as the Bangalore weather was fine. I would just need to spray hard over the soil before going to work and once in the evenings as their was sufficient rains in the afternoons. The unpredictability in the weather though resulted in the loss of three of my plants. The dark clouds vanished one day and I found out to my dismay that my dwarf dahlia, zinnia, a double hibiscus sapling and another dahlia that I have been growing from seed drooped significantly by evening. I watered it well immediately but couldnt find much improvement in its condition. I kept it around for a week with special care for these guys, but the plants just kept getting worse. This is the maximum number of plants that I have lost in one go and that too due to lack of care. I guess this is one of the facts of gardening that we have to accept. Just getting used to watering in this season that has unpredictable rains and sunshine.