Garden Bloggers Blooms Day August 2008

15th August, 2008, time for the gardener to revel in and showcase the blooms which greet her eyes every morning. It is a typical monsoon day at Indiagarden with rain clouds looming large in the sky and the plants swaying with ‘green’ abandon. Today happens to be my Country’s Independence Day as well. Therefore, as a respect to my National Flag and the soil of the country, which has given me so much, literally, I arranged these blooms in the colors of the National Flag – Saffron, white and Green. Here goes my bloom list;These two blooms are a new addition to my ever increasing garden family,the nursery person told me the plant's name is Francisia but when I googled it there was not much info. Any help, friends? Dwarf Ixora-This plant was in my bloom list last year too, but it could not survive the harsh winters and perished. This is a new plant. Touch me not or Mimosa pudica-So delicate! Canna Lily Buddha Belly plant or Jatropha podagrica Colocasia> bloom Purslane or Portulaca oleracea in lovely vibrant colours. Spider Lily Shrimp plant or Pachystachys lutea -This is also a recent addition to my garden; very interesting flower! Dwarf Mussaenda or Mussaenda Glabra Hedychium coronarium Rose Plumbago and Periwinkle amidst some soothing green Last but not the least I present the first flower of my Water lily . Oh, I can't wait for it to open! P.S.-Thanks to my blogging friends for identifying my mysterious flower as Ruellia Brittoniana.. it is also known as Mexican Petunia.

Chill(y)ing out!

There are peppers to tingle your taste buds, to make you sweat and cry, to squeeze your salivary juices out... But then there are some which delight you by their sheer presence!! You do not generally eat them or add them to any cuisine, but like some exotic expensive stone, they adorn the garden and add to its beauty and value. These are the ornamental peppers – the jewels of my garden. Whenever I have been visited by a friend or a neighbor, who has even a remote interest in gardening, these beauties have caught the beholder’s attention. And, very proudly, now and then, have I deliberately flaunted the gems to anyone who was impertinent enough to not to ask me about them. I first spotted these peppers at a wayside resort. They caught my fancy and I wanted them immediately, and very desperately, for my own garden. It was my garden help who arranged for the seeds from different places, as we do not yet have an organized seed shop network in my city. That gives me an idea to pioneer a seed shop network here:-)

Blogging Sentiments

Last several months forced me to compromise on many things as there was too much going on at the same time in life. I poked my head into several things at once which included professional up gradation and increased responsibilities on my work front. And thus, I had to be away from two of my greatest stress busters – gardening and blogging. It was especially the latter which I rued missing most. Over the time giving and receiving comments, blog hopping, writing posts, photography from a bloggers’ perspective etc have become an essential way of life. Not reading my favorite blogs starts giving me withdrawal symptoms, just the way the absence of morning newspaper makes me jittery. Devoid of my daily dose of addiction had me thinking on the marvel of this level of interaction; an experience of ‘Bliss’ while soaked in Indian humidity, ‘Transplanting Roses’ while sipping on the morning Tea; a taste of ‘little corner of Paradise’ at the press of a button, or shall we say, click of a mouse; looking at the smudges on Earth Paint and Life while smoothening the creases on the bed sheet enjoying ‘maydreams’ while rubbing the sleepy morning eyes; traveling to and with the ‘Caribbean gardener’ all over the globe while wondering on menu for the breakfast; a peep over the ‘Balcony gardener’s’ exploits while my little gardener gets ready for the school; or may be treating my visual senses to some beautiful ‘Succulent Life’ as the day starts for me on a high note thanks to all the wonderful fellow bloggers … The list is exhaustive and growing! And I consider myself privileged to have been found worthy of a blog visit by my fellow bloggers, whose words and posts are a constant companion to my thoughts even if I myself find it difficult to be very regular in posting.

A Mid Summer Treat

Mango the king of fruits is here! One thing which makes me treat the hot and very humid summer season with less contempt is that besides heat it also brings lots and lots of Mangoes – my favorite fruit for all seasons. This season, for the first time, Mango trees in my garden produced a bounty of fruit. Last several years had seen the fruit being destroyed by the notorious Mango Mealy Bug. All measures to prevent the bug from depriving me of my home grown fruit had proven useless. I remember reading in ‘The Alchemist’- one of my favorite books- ' if you want something very badly the whole universe conspires to give it to you!' So this time around there was some divine intervention (as I didn’t try anything new), and despite the bug, fruits thrived. When you are a witness to the whole process of a mango inflorescence turning into a beautiful handsome fruit, you develop a special affection for it. It was a sight to behold. For a mango lover what can be more pleasing than the site of a Mango laden tree standing proudly in her lawn? They withstood strong winds, rains and stood their ground despite all odds. Finally when it seemed that the time and the fruit, both are ripe, I asked the garden help to pluck and pack the fruits away for ripening.The Mango which comes off the tree requires a storage period of 3-4 days in slightly warm and humid surroundings; it is only after that that it develops the sweet flavor and an appealing yellow color – depending on the cultivar. Here lies the advantage of having home grown mangoes: at some places, in order to make a quick buck, unscrupulous vendors do away with the 3-4 days wait time and artificially ripen mangoes with Calcium Carbide – a sinister practice. Calcium Carbide when dissolved in water gives away Acetylene gas which ripens the mangoes quickly and gives them a healthy color, but the gas is highly toxic and inflammable, moreover Calcium Carbide contains residues of Arsenic and Phosphorus, two very toxic chemicals. After knowing all that, it is very difficult for me to not to eye the luscious looking mango at the local market with a considerable degree of skepticism. 4 days later the Mangoes were all ready to begin their journey down our gastrointestinal tracts. A sweet fruity fragrance pervaded the storage room, tingling my nose and taste buds. My little gardener was also quite excited and shared her Mother’s infatuation for the fruit; she has a very natural way of enjoying it – allowing not just the taste buds, but all the cells on her face to savor the feeling!

Garden Bloggers Blooms Day-June 2008

Things on professional front had kept, most of my time and nearly all my attention, diverted from anything else, including my blog and gardening. But thankfully, despite my compromised attention the blooms have continued and even the Weather Gods have been benevolent; showering their watery blessings on the parched plant souls. The Rainy season here, which is popularly called as The Monsoon, has arrived and hopefully – if the weathermen can be trusted – we are in for some dark drenching days ahead. With these thoughts I present my Bloom list as part of GBBD started by Carol at Maydreamgardens: Crepe Myrtle or Lagerstromia Ball lily Periwinkle Fire Bush or Hamelia Patens Garlic vine Dwarf Mussaenda, White Wing or Mussaenda glabra Buttterfly weed Gladiolus, though not fully open... Gerbera Shooting star flower or Pseuderanthemum Laxiflorum Canna Lily Crape Jamine Balsam or Impatiens Hibiscus This is an unknown bloom which I bought from the nursery a few days back. Any guesses?? All my blooms are drenched in rains, rain drops can be seen on almost all of them, still they appear very cheerful and happy! Good times ahead for my garden.... P.S.- The bloom was later identified by 'Debofkolkata' as Lemonia spectabilis. Thanks a lot!