Hail Monsoon
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.
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Posted by Green thumb at 5:21 AM|PERMALINK 15 comments
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010
Butterfly garden
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.
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Posted by Green thumb at 4:35 AM|PERMALINK 27 comments
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010
Cherry Blossoms
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!
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Posted by Green thumb at 2:53 AM|PERMALINK 13 comments
Labels: cherry tomatoes
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010
A Sackful of Potatoes
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.
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Posted by Green thumb at 10:59 PM|PERMALINK 15 comments
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Posted by Green thumb at 10:43 PM|PERMALINK 8 comments
MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2010
Bugged!
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…
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Posted by Green thumb at 10:45 AM|PERMALINK 19 comments
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010
Self Seeders: a laid back gardener's first love
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
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.
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Posted by Green thumb at 6:29 AM|PERMALINK 25 comments
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Royal Journey
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.
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Posted by Green thumb at 6:46 AM|PERMALINK 32 comments
Labels: Bikaner, Junagarh fort, Karni Mata Mandir, Rat temple
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Green thumb
Saharanpur, Uttar pradesh, India
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