It’s funny how certain things, seemingly unrelated, have such impact on life.
I started blogging about my garden and other personal experiences after getting inspired to do the same by some absolutely stunning garden blogs existing on the web. It’s a great feeling to see the beautiful gardens all over the world, to be able to experience the diverse flora across geographical boundaries, in places, I couldn’t have ever dreamt of visiting. Strangely enough all these experiences have made me more conscious and responsible towards my garden.
Looking at the garden thoughtfully I felt a reverence towards the senior most members of my floral family. The
Peepal tree(
Ficus religiosa), the pride of my garden, having its sagely existence much before mine, stands tall and is a witness to several decades of changes this place has seen.Every spring a significant part of the garden is bathed in its dry leaves, giving nightmares to my sweeper. This time I collected the leaves and allowed them to decay, creating good enough compost. Here it sways its sturdy branches adorned in a brand new set of leaves, smiling in the face of a harsh summer and providing the much needed shade to this portion of the house.
Another portion of the house is flanked by the relatively younger Mango tree. Mango(
Mangifera Indica)being one of my favorite fruits and also the national fruit of my country gives the tree a very special place in my heart. Although it is still not exactly like a fully grown mango tree but it does bear some delicious fruit leaving my heart craving for more.Sadly this season the mangoes are conspicuous by their absence ,for reasons unknown to me.
This Mango tree ,teeming with fruits, is in my neighbours' yard.Simply awesome!!
Adjacent to the mango stands the pomegranate tree, nowhere as sturdy as the Peepal or as glamorous as the mango, pomegranate or
Punica granatum, has a beauty surpassed by no other. Standing tall and slender with delicately hanging branches it seems like a compromise between the strength of a big tree and the grace of a small flowering plant.
This is the Java Plum or the
Jamun tree as is known in Hindi.Also known as Indian Blackberry,the tree bears fruit in the months of July-August
This is the
Ashoka tree or the Indian Fir or the Mast tree.The majestically tall tree is almost always covered with dense foliage. Shedding of leaves occur at the onset of spring,just like the Peepal tree.My garden has about twenty of these trees.
That’s the
Guava tree, a favorite of the birds who frequent here, especially parrots. Intrigue and admiration for these flying visitors preempts any irritation I might have had on finding the fruits of my labor pecked.
Looking down upon the garden, quite literally, is the Eucalyptus. It’s a favored hang out for the Eagles, may be they get a better view from this high up without having to bother themselves with the effort of flying! Although the Eagles are a menace, for all the organic freebies they drop in the garden, yet their prying eyes keeps the garden free of small rodents and other squirming creatures. The tree emits a particularly pleasing odor. In fact many of the medicinal concoctions for local pain relief have eucalyptus oil as an essential component and emit that slightly pungent odor so typical of eucalyptus.
Late February saw the flowers being converted to seedpods.
I am tempted to draw an analogy with the life cycle of a butterfly where the Pupa, like the seedpod here, encloses the beautiful creature within. Although, the final result there is more visually appealing than the mustard seed, which is way more visually gratifying in its earlier incarnation as a flower.
Shortly thereafter, I harvested my proud produce and left it to dry (The sizzling summer sun was very helpful!)
There then, I had my garden help do the skilled bit of separating the seeds skillfully. He thrashed and pounded the dried seedpods and then sieved the seeds to separate them from the husk.
After the tedious and time consuming job of dehusking is over, here is the end result. But some processing in the form of cleaning, washing and drying in the sun is still left.
Finally, the seeds are ready to be used in some delectable Indian cuisines, very spicy but all the same, very tasty as well. Though mustard seeds are used in various types of Indian food, they find a very special place in south Indian cuisine, where they are used for tempering the curries. 
