balcony garden in bangalore

Since my move to Bangalore last month, I have experimented with various plants, soil, fertilizers available locally, and have learnt a lot through trial and error. A few of my plants died an early death partly because of the poor soil in which they were planted originally, and partly because of my ignorance on the kind of soil and fertilizer I purchased. My gardenia leaves shed off completely, and my geranium also seems to have suffered the same fate. I have stopped using the red mud that a nursery sold me and so also a nameless, unlabeled fertilizer, which burned off the roots of several tender plants.

First, here are some flowering plants that are growing well after I changed the red mud soil to Cocopeat and compost.

Jasmine

This lovely white and sweet smelling flower has given us a lot of happiness! The moment I open the balcony door, I can smell its fragrance. I threw out the original soil, made a mix of Cocopeat and compost and replanted it so that water drainage improved.

Salvia

The plant is growing well after transplanting it in Cocopeat mixed with compost, and with the addition of a teaspoon of fertilizer (Agropel – sold for a can costing about Rs. 200 at a shop specializing in gardening materials).

The only problem that I am still facing with this plant is that the small black ants love to assemble within the red flowers and probably strip the insides bare. I have seen these little devils carrying off some whitish stuff from these flowers in a long line that went off the balcony destination unknown. I blew them off whenever I could, but they keep coming back. I also applied some mosquito repellant (only stuff that was at hand) around the pot, and they stayed away. I’m sure the ants will be back after summoning their distant relatives and form a new long line tomorrow. I’ll have to look for some home-made remedies to get rid of these ants and save the Salvia flowers.

 

 

Allamanda

I love this creeper plant. As usual, I transplanted it after buying it from a nursery with my usual Cocopeat-compost combination, keeping stones at the base to drain out water easily. This plant has been growing very well, creepers traveling all over the net and fresh leaves and buds coming up.

There was another small plant growing from the same pot when I purchased it. I had thought initially that there were two Allamanda plants in the same pot; I separated the two planting them in different pots. The small plant is now growing. The leaves seem to be different from the Allamanda leaves. I also see a bud in the plant; once the flower blooms, I will know what kind of a plant it is. Hope it is a flower different from the flowers I have seen until now!

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I bought a packet of tuberose (Rajnigandha is the local name)  bulbs and planted them in a long pot, using a mix of Cocopeat, red mud, and compost taking care to lay a layer of stones at the base before filling in the soil mix so that water drainage would improve.

Tuberose

The growth seems to be good; I’m hoping that flowers will bloom within a month from now. I love this flower because of its heavenly scent, and am eagerly awaiting the flowers.

 

Edamame (Soya)

The Edamame (Soya seeds) that I got from Japan did sprout very fast but after growing to about 100 cm, growth has slowed down. Either the soil lacks the nutrition for the plant or the weather conditions are not conducive to rapid growth, or the size of the pot is inadequate. I hope to set right each of these conditions in the coming days and observe the growth of the plants. Today, I found a soya bean pod in one of the plants. This doesn’t bode well – I have seen bunches of pods coming up at the same time from the main stem!

 

Jasmine – Belle of India

Another variety of Jasmine is turning out very well with lots of buds just about to open. These flowers are also very fragrant and make the balcony an attractive place to spend time. Petals are fuller and not pointed like the first variety of Jasmine I showed earlier.  Again used a combination of Cocopeat and vermicompost with an occasional feed of AgroPel fertilizer.

Rose

The small roses have started blooming at last – this is the first of the rose after replanting to a larger pot with fresh Cocopeat and vermicompost. I find that the soil in the rose planter dries out much faster than other flowering plants, and I found watering it twice a day makes the plant healthier.

 

Allamanda Cherry

I love the color – reminds me of cherry ice cream. The flower is quite large and seems to remain in bloom for two to three days (maybe more). There are a few more buds behind this flower, and if I don’t cut this off, the buds behind won’t bloom soon!

Bougainvillea

After changing the soil and replanting it, the Bougainvillea plant has also perked up. I’m wondering when to prune it so that there is no adverse effect on the blooms. Time to read and study some more!

 

J

Jasmine

The sweet-scented and lovely Jasmine flowers bloomed well – until disaster struck. A few monkeys that visited the mango tree just outside my balcony ate up the leaves and flowers, puled out the plant until the roots were exposed and took off!

 

Monkeys on the opposite building after devouring my beloved Jasmine plant
Yes, it was a monkey that created havoc. I have no idea why a Jasmine plant is delicious to a monkey!

I drove them off twice and fixed up a net so that they wouldn’t eat any more of my plants but he damage has been done!

 

Plumeria

I planted two Plumeria seeds not hoping much and wonder of wonders – one of them took root! I wonder how long it would be before it starts giving flowers.

 

Until next time, happy gardening from Bangalore, the Garden City!

Technorati Tags: Plumeria,bougainvillea,jasmine,allamanda,soya,tuberose

the move–from Japan to India

The title of the blog should be changed since I am now in India; but for a while I’ll continue to report on the status in Japan as well.

I made the move from Japan to India at the beginning of March because of family circumstances. The move essentially means a switch from square foot gardening to container gardening. Let me continue with where I had left off at my last post while in Japan.

Around the middle of January, I had harvested broccoli, coriander and while I was away to India, my neighbors reported that they had harvested and consumed the cabbages too.

Broccoli

Coriander

New sturdy fencing

I had also torn down the old fence, got hold of sturdy bamboo, cut them to the right size and fixed new fencing increasing the growing area by two more plots.

At this juncture, I was devastated by the passing away of my beloved elder sister in India, and I took the decision to move to India to take care of my elderly mother. In the first week of March, I bid goodbye to my office garden, and to all my neighbors and friends in Japan, and set off for Bangalore, India.

It is now a switch from growing in a field to growing in containers! I have started a small garden in one of my balconies of my second story apartment.

Before I proceed to container gardening, I must mention that Bangalore in the southern part of India, is ideally suited to growing various flowers and vegetables and is often called the garden city of India. Here are a few scenes of a park near my house where I go early mornings to work out lightly and do some Yoga.

Path for walking/jogging bordered by old trees and numerous flowering bushes

The park has numerous trees with purple, pink and yellow flowers – one such tree bearing purple flowers which I presume is jacaranda

Tree with yellow flowers probably the laburnum near the children’s park located within the large park

My early morning workout in this park is invigorating and refreshes me every day.

 

I made a start by visiting a nursery close by and purchasing some flowering plants, pots, soil, compost and some fertilizer – could not find vermiculite, perlite – soil was red in color and very fine; I added some vermi-compost to it and tried to make it a little coarse. Repotted some of the flowering plants that were extremely cheap compared to Japan, but were grown in very poor soil and poorly maintained.

The start – Gardenia, Hibiscus and Curry Leaf plant in my balcony

Geranium and jasmine (mogra – the Belle of India)

I am a fanatic collector of sweet scented flowers and picked the jasmine the moment I saw it.

Repotted it and I look forward to lots of flowers.

 

Flower seeds from Japan

Although I have no idea whether seeds from Japan generally grown there in spring will give rise to seedlings or not, I planted four varieties of seeds – Periwinkle, Dragonsnap, Helichrysum and Globosa. Time will tell, I guess.

Four planted varieties

Moved the flowering plants immediately to the framework in the balcony to make full use of the abundant sunshine.

The hibiscus responded immediately by blooming immediately.

The gardenia plant below the soil had roots that had packed up so densely that it was like a rock. I had to pummel it with a hammer to loosen the soil and cut away most of the dead roots. I repotted the gardenia in new soil mixed with compost; can’ say the new soil is good but at least it should give a fresh lease of life to the poor Gardenia.

I should have pummeled the person looking after the Gardenia instead!

 

 

Plants moved to balcony framework

 

 

Hibiscus in bloom

I’m likely to add some margolds and grow some radish seeds in the near future. Until the next post, have a great day!

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November flowers, new seedlings and new Delhi

A rather cryptic title – I’d like to show you all the flowers that bloomed in November, all the seedlings that sprouted and the trip to New Delhi at the end of November (hopefully after publishing this blog).

Here are the flowers that bloomed:

The splenderous white Dahlia

The majestic rose

Thriving abutilons

Dahlia Imperialis – blooming 2 meters above the ground

Colorul Lantana

Another abutilon – small red and yellow lanterns

Chrysanthemums in profusion

Chrysanthemum of a different color in bloom

Kochia Scoparia – a bushy plant that changes color in autumn and resembles a broom in winter (called houkiso in Japanese)

 

Let us look at the winter vegetables now.

My first square foot bed with four rows of eight plants

My second square foot bed with 48 onion seedlings

Third square foot bed with coriander, spinach and green peas

Fourth square foot bed – cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli

That’s all I have for you in this post, folks, as I leave for New Delhi on official work! Until next time, happy gardening!

Technorati Tags: cabbage,cauliflower,broccoli,coriander,green peas,dahlia,rosé,lantana,abutilon

goodbye to summer vegetables in my office garden

After my last visit to India in September, I experimented with seeds (purchased from India) in my office garden. The results were encouraging for some varieties of gourds.

Bottle gourd

Successfully grown through seeds. I did not anticipate that the plant would travel all around my square foot plots clinging to every plant and support on its way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left: Ridge gourd; Right: Yellow flowers of the ridge gourd

The ridge gourd plant produced abundant yellow flowers all through September/October and the yield was high especially where the plant had climbed on the fence and trellis!

These two vegetables will become a permanent feature next summer in my office garden.

 

Ridge gourds and mini tomatoes

One of my Japanese friends, Utiyama-san, was happy with to make use of this vegetable after peeling off the skin and removing the seeds in miso soup! In my house, I was happy using these ridge gourds in sambar – my favorite South Indian dish.

In the meanwhile, a strong typhoon played havoc with my fence and flattened my vegetable plants.

After the typhoon

Restoration

The damage however, was not severe as none of the plants were uprooted. I restored the fence and the plants and it was back to business as usual. The dense growth on the left side at the front consist of edamame (soya beans). These plants produced beans right up to autumn when the temperatures started dropping; I had two harvests of edamame – one around July/August and one around October. Needless to say, the beans were delicious (we boiled them for about 2-3 minutes; sprinkled a bit of salt and consumed them a little everyday).

Bitter gourd

We enjoyed a fairly good harvest of bitter gourds too – some turned out to be gigantic. See the ones on the left dwarfing the ridge gourd to the right.

Harvest of green pepper, bitter gourd, beans, persimmon and edamame

I also hand an incessant supply of green peppers and bitter gourd (the only vegetables I planted in my home garden) throughout summer. The soil in my home garden seems more conducive to growing green pepper and chili rather than the soil in my office garden. The edamame on the right is the amount that I picked everyday for consumption. The taste drops exponentially if you don’t eat them right away!

Dug up the beds and exposed them to the sun for several days

After the last harvest of edamame, I started preparing the soil for winter vegetables. I used some lime to offset the effects of acidity (from rain) and to retain a decent pH value. The yellow flowers of the ridge gourd can be seen in the photo above.

Compost and humus to enrich the soil

I used about 20 liters of compost and humus to enrich the soil in each bed, and mixed them up thoroughly digging down to about 40 cm.

Beds mixed, leveled and ready for receiving seeds and saplings of winter vegetables

I am rather pleased with the soil preparation this time – more compost and less fertilizer should give me healthy organic vegetables this spring.

Left: Bed with black sheet (to retain heat and moisture in soil in the cold winter)

Right: Planted cauliflower, cabbage, stick broccoli and broccoli (8 each in one row)

Under the tunnels

Erected tunnels over the cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli plants to ward off insects and worms.

The plan for the winter is:

1) one plot for cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli

2) One plot for spinach, green peas, and two local varieties of peas

3) One plot complete for growing four rows (8 in a row) of onions

4) One plot for fava beans, coriander, radish and spinach.

 

I end this post with a magnificent flower  I picked up by the side of my office plot:

Until the next post, happy gardening!

Technorati Tags: bottle gourd,ridge gourd,coriander,cabbage,cauliflower,fava beans,green peas,green pepper

Home, Harvest and history in the making

The title just about sums up the content of this post.

I was away for almost the whole of August on deputation to New Delhi, and avoided the hot summer in Japan. Yes, it is quite hot and humid in summer – July and August – with the mercury rising to nearly 38 degrees Celsius. New Delhi was much cooler at about 27 degrees, and I feasted myself to fruits like papaya, pear, sapota and apples. I continued with my Yoga early mornings at that delightful park amidst pigeons, parrots and squirrels!

A pigeon making a safe landing!

Peaceful co-existence with mynas also joining the party  – New Delhi Park

Where else can you find a scene like this but in India? Home to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and other religions that co-exist peacefully (relatively and most of the time!).

I snapped some flowers to at this park – probably the spider lily and some irises. Here they are:

Lily and iris?

I returned home to Japan at the end of the month surprised to see most of my vegetables intact and plants maintained well through watering everyday by the landlord! The result was a bountiful harvest all on a single day!

Bountiful harvest

Yes, I reaped a lot of green pepper, eggplants, tomatoes, and some Molokheiya leaves (good for soup), bitter gourd, and another variety of gourd and a cucumber. Thanks to Seto-san and Utiyama-san, my local friends who kept my vegetable garden alive in my absence.

And here is another close-up of the fresh veggies that delighted me:

Close-up showing two varieties of gourds

 

And a close-up of green peppers that I had planted in my home garden

Meanwhile, I was also happy that my home garden was diligently watered throughout the summer (although I had a heck of  a time pulling out the weeds!). Here are some blooms that brought me cheer.

The lovely Rose of Sharon

Another variety of the Rose of Sharon (with pink petals)

The exquisitely shaped Abutilon with its head bowed

Yes, I had to look up from below to take this snap. This is a shy flower and keeps its head down.

Dense growth of Morning Glory and Bitter Gourd

I had strung up the net in front of the windows and planted the Morning Glory and Bitter Gourd plants before leaving for India. They had not been led properly and the result was a dense bush. The space inside remains cool during the hot summer, so I’m happy.

Here are some other blooms from my home garden:

Clockwise from top hosta, morning glory, fragrant ginger lily, and three-together morning glories

I must admit that the ginger lily is one of my prized possessions in the home garden. When I stand by it at night, a gentle breeze brings the delicate fragrance up and keeps me happy!

Coming to the last part of my post, namely “history in the making,” I was in New Delhi when a simple man, a soldier who fought for India, and well-known mostly in his village and his state of Maharashtra as a social worker who uplifted the residents of his village to a better life, announced that he was sick of corruption among politicians and would fast unto death unless the government took measures to accept a bill drawn up by him against corruption and vote on it. This man, Anna Hazare, suddenly struck a chord with people from all walks of life in India; the poor, the middle class, the actors, the engineers, the IT personnel – almost everyone. He had nothing to gain – he did not belong to any political party; he was not in it for money; he just wanted corrupt people brought to justice. I was in New Delhi when he began the fast; and I thought to myself that here was another Gandhi and history was being made.  I agreed with all that he had said. It seems that if all the wealth stashed away by corrupt persons in India in Swiss banks was returned and distributed to the poor,  poverty could be eliminated in India. I don’t know how far this is true but thinking out loud – why can’t some bright Indian (I know that you are out there!) set up a bank in India that accepted only funds from rich people in Switzerland – no questions asked! Hey!  After collecting these funds, the bank could lend the money at low rates of interest to Indian entrepreneurs, who I’m sure could make better chocolates and watches and give the Swiss a run for their own money! Any takers?

Until the next post, have a great day!

Technorati Tags: Gourd,tomatoes,cucumbers,eggplants,green peppers,Rose of Sharon,Hosta,Morning Glory

eggplant, edamame and easy pickings

The title just about sums up the present post. After a great harvest in June where the entire family had a fill of delicious, sweet, edamame (soya beans), I couldn’t resist not growing them anymore. Thanks to my friend Utiyama-san, who had surplus edamame plants, I planted two to three rows and they shot up with fresh green leaves.

Edmame in all its glory

Throughout the month of July, my office garden gave me a constant supply of eggplant, tomatoes, cucumber, and green pepper. The long and slender eggplants made their appearance quite early, and in late July, the almost perfectly round eggplants came up. Here are some typical daily pickings:

Daily harvest of vegetables in July

I was fortunate to receive a fresh load of potatoes daily from friendly neighbors and have enjoyed fresh organic vegetables throughout the month in July. The tomatoes were especially delicious, and they are still going strong, as I write this blog on the plane heading for India. I hope my friends and neighbors will harvest the veggies from my office garden while I’m  away.

Meanwhile, the gladiolus that I planted at the corners of the plot, suddenly shot up and bloomed taking me by surprise. One of my friends had commented that since I had planted them in spring this year, I should expect flowers only next year. Here they are – don’t they look good?

Gladiolus – three at corners of two plots

New additions to my plots this July include vegetables seeds that I brought from India and planted on an experimental basis. These include ridge gourd, bottle gourd, purslane, and beetroot.

Ridge gourd plants at the corners

I planted only two from seed no knowing whether they could survive the weather conditions here in Japan at this time, but they are coming out very healthy! I quickly erected stakes to assist the vines to take a hold and pull up the plant vertically.

 

Bottle gourd next to the ridge gourd plants

I planted two bottle gourds next to the ridge gourds. Their huge leave are likely to overshadow the smaller leaves of the ridge gourd as both varieties grow tall. It will be nice to surprise my Japanese friends with ridge and bottle gourds – they have probably never seen these vegetables.

Let’s go to an overall view of my office garden. This is how it looked at the end of July.

Overall view of office garden

In general, tomatoes were easy pickings this season. Growing each plant by forking them low down and guiding the two branches on two stakes seems to be an efficient way to grow more. Another tactic I adopted was to pluck the reddest ones in each bunch of tomatoes every day – this gave a uniform harvest everyday with the unripe ones quickly ripening soon after the ripened ones are harvested.

I am anticipating a huge harvest in eggplant in August and September. They seem to come up with a second flush late in summer. The green peppers too are late growers in my plots. I’m a little disappointed with okra and am praying that they are just late starters. The growth seems to be very slow.

The home garden have had some new blooms – I was pleasantly surprised with soapwort. The pink flowers seem to be blooming incessantly. I thought of cutting off the stalks once the flowers dried, but new blooms seem to be coming up again.

Soapwort – pink blooms in my herb garden

White Monarda

It was the turn of the white Monarda after the pink ones bloomed and said goodbye in June. I love the elegance of this flower.

Morning Glory (Asagao)

And who can resist the splendor of the Morning Glory? I had these running up on a vertical net positioned in front of the windows along with bitter gourd climbers. Each flower seems to have its own sun at the center!

 

Dahlberg Daisy

My friend, Utiyama-san, first gave me this plant and then rooted out its name from the Internet. Cute yellow flowers that bloom immediately after you cut out the old flowers.

 

Hostas – perking up!

The hostas too have started shooting off flowers from the center. Both flowers and leaves are attractive and these plants require minimal maintenance. They do spread and their roots need to be divided and moved to some other place from time to time. I love these hostas too.

 

Grapes

I have grapes growing out of a planter in the balcony at home. This is the first year I’ll be seeing the ripe grapes and maybe tasting them (hopefully, if I’m in Japan at that time). The figure on the right shows an enlarged view.

 

Wisteria

Meanwhile, one of the two wisterias in my home garden, started blooming in August! These trees had already bloomed in spring; none of my gardening friends had seen Wisteria blooming in the midst of summer. I’m saving this photo for posterity!

 

That’s all for this post, folks. I think I made good use of my time on the plane from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur. Still a couple of hours to go, my neck is taking a beating! Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: Edamame,eggplant,wisteria,monarda,bitter gourd,bottle gourd,ridge gourd

cucumber, corn and and chutney

After returning from India last week, I was fortunate to harvest both corn and edamame (soya beans).

 

Corn, edamame, cucumber, bell pepper and eggplant

As usual, the edamame and corn harvested and eaten on the same day justified growing them in my garden – they tasted superb. The beans were sweet and fresh; the corn juicy and tender. The cucumber too was water and crackled as you bit into it. I generally add a dash of lemon and some salt when I eat cucumber. 

Never keep such stuff for the next day. You pluck them and eat them immediately. When I was young and growing up in India, we didn’t have a refrigerator. Frankly, we didn’t need one! We bought fresh vegetables in the morning, cooked and ate them the same day; the next day, we again bought a day’s worth of vegetables.

That’s all about veggies in this post – we’ll go to my home garden that has some lovely blooms this summer, and I’ll also talk about a herb chutney that I tried out last week.

First, the hydrangea.

Hydrangea

The hydrangeas did not disappoint me this year too. They stood stall and stately, welcoming me back from my trip to India.

Closeup of the hydrangea

Ain’t she beautiful?

Next, let’s go to the herb plot.

Yellow Camomille flowers, dark pink Monarda, yellow Soapwort flowers, fennel seeds, and oregano overflowing the plot. I decided to trim off some oregano and to make some chutney. Looked up the web and here’s what I came up with:

  

The substance of oregano chutney (my own version)

A teaspoon of urad dal

Some oregano leaves

Half an onion chopped as above

A tomato chopped up as in the photo

Two small green chillies (hot)

 

I fried the onions and chopped up chillies in batter (using some mustard seeds and cumin seeds) until golden brown, added tomatoes and the oregano leaves heating them for a little while. Then moved the entire mix into a small mixer, added some salt and squeezed about half a lemon into it and revved it up!  Within a minute I had some great tasting chutney in hand – it wasn’t too spicy, and I also use it as salad dressing. Do try it!

 

Original Oregano chutney

Now for the new additions and flowers in bloom in my home garden.

Salvia

I love the delicate pink and white salvia, thanks to my friend Utiyama-san, who gave me a plant from his garden.

Monarda

The lovely pink Monarda (probably called the Bergamot?) another donation from my friend Utiyama san’s garden, has quickly become my favorite flower.

Abutilon

The perfectly circular, umbrella-shaped petals of the pink Abutilon peeping out of leaves – this was the first of the Abutilons to bloom this year.

 

 

Lantana

Yellow, red and orange in bunches that light up the surroundings

 

Another variety of hydrangea with white flowers

Another tip of the hat to Utiyama-san. He gave this plant to me in a planter; within a few days the flowers were in bloom. You can see red and yellow abutilon behind and by the side of the hydrangea.

Plumbago

Finally, here is the plumbago – I had lost hope and thought the plant was dead. All that remained in winter was a forlorn looking stump. In summer, I watered the planter assiduously every day, and to my delight, leaves sprung up and flowers too!

Until the next post, here’s wishing you happy gardening!

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Technorati Tags: Monarda,Cucumber,Corn,Chutney,Plumbago,Hydrangea,Oregano,Edamame

Yoga, fragrant flowers and squirrels

The title just about sums up my trip to India (off the working hours). My deputation to India this time was for a period of 18 days in New Delhi. Although New Delhi was steaming at a staggering 42 degrees Celsius when I landed there on June 5, I set off every morning at 6 am to a heavenly park about 5 minutes away from my hotel . Here is an early morning scene on the way to the park:

Early morning scene from hotel to park in New Delhi

The park was situated in a quiet and rich residential area and it seemed to be in an altogether different world in the midst of bustling New Delhi. Huge palatial houses surrounded by verdant trees and flowers and guarded by watchmen. No noise except for the sweet calls of koels, and sometimes from a protesting call from a peacock.

Joggers walking to the park (on the left)

Kids playing badminton, youngsters walking around the path in the park, middle-aged persons with bulging tummies and spritely old men forming a “Laughter Club” and several others practicing Yoga – you could find them all in this lovely park early morning.

Neat pathways and trees and flowers in abundance in the park

The pathway led to some wonderful fragrant spots thanks to a bunch of plumeria trees.

Fragrant Plumeria flowers

Each time you passed by these trees,  a sweet fragrant smell would make you happy. I felt like walking faster so that I would reach the same spot again and smell the flowers.

Closeup of the Plumeria (called “Champa” in New Delhi)

I found these flowers all over New Delhi. I have a plant at my house in Japan too. I grow it in a planter; in winter, it is too cold and the plant sheds all its leaves and goes to sleep. In spring I water it and the leaves come up . Growth is rather slow and I have yet to see flowers in my Plumeria in Japan.

Another view of the park showing some elderly people in the Laughter Club and another person in a Yoga posture

It is in this park that I plonked myself on the grass every morning and went through my Yoga ritual for about 30 minutes. The moment I closed my eyes to perform deep breathing exercises, I could hear nothing but birds. What a wonderful feeling in the midst of a metropolis!

I also came upon various flowers and birds – and was lucky to get two hornbills in my camera.

A  pair of hornbills high up in a tree

I was also lucky to shoot a photo of pigeons, squirrels and parrots all partaking the early morning meal of grains dispersed by a kind soul.

Parrots, squirrels and pigeons sharing a meal

Parrots and squirrels coexisting peacefully

Made me happy to see various creatures coexisting in peace and harmony. Wish humans would too!

In addition to Plumeria, I found various other flowers within and outside the park such as bougainvillea, laburnum, jasmine, and so on.

Here are some that I clicked in and outside the park:

Assorted flowers in and around the park

All told, I think I performed my work in New Delhi more efficiently, thanks to the daily dose of Yoga amid fragrant flowers, birds and squirrels and a wonderful environment!

Until the next post, happy gardening!

Technorati Tags: Plumeria,bougainvillea,parrots,squirrels,yoga

Harvests and cuttings

I’m off to India tomorrow on official work. One of gardening friends mentioned that does one really de-stress while gardening or gets stressed thinking about whether all plants have been watered, fertilized or not. I have decided to place my trust my friend Utiyama-san/my landlord to take care of my office garden and and my wife to take care of my home garden. In the meanwhile, I have been busy harvesting veggies already!

First potatoes from one plant this year

I was delighted with the 8 or so potatoes from my first plant – I took them home immediately. The funny thing about these freshly harvested potatoes is that you rub against the skin while washing them and  the skin peels off! Wonderful taste – just pop a few in the microwave oven after washing them, cut half way and deftly insert thin slices of butter, a sprinkling of salt and some chat masala and eat them immediately. These were the best potatoes I have ever tasted.

                         Second day’s harvest and rose cuttings

On the second day, I harvested some broccoli and beans. And, as the title of this post indicates, I received some cuttings of a fragrant rose variety and some cuttings of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, and immediately planted them in deep pots applying rooting hormone at the cut ends before inserting them in special mix. Next year promises to be a rosy one (pun intended)!

 

Cosmos and Balsam

In the meanwhile, I found small Cosmos plant and Balsam plants scattered all over the field; these were probably from the scattering of seeds from last year. I promptly picked up a few and placed them in a pot. As the flowers bloom, I can present it to some non-gardening friend and see his delighted face!

 

My cauliflowers and broccoli have turned out quite all right.

    

Cauliflower                                                                      Broccoli

One or two of the cauliflowers showed a purple tinge in the stems. I wonder why. Any ideas?

View of the cauliflower and broccoli plants

(Left corner shows three gladiolus bulbs that I planted to add some color. Not sure whether flowers will bloom this year)

View of potatoes, edamame and corn

Corns seem to be doing well too. I learned that I had to periodically check the plastic bands that I had used to secure the corn plant to the stay. As the corn grows, the plastic bites into the stem; luckily I unloosened the bands allowing the corn to grow freely. The yellow flowers at the far end corner are marigolds.

 

Tomatoes

The tomatoes have come up fast. Initially thought of setting the stays in teepee shape, but have now set the poles erect and have led two stems from each plant up each pole. I should be harvesting large tomatoes from four and mini tomatoes from four plants in another week or so.

The rest of the plot looks a bit barren thanks to a few pests in the soil that calmly ate up the roots of my Okra and Moroheiya plants!

 

                  

                        Eggplant

While eggplants (left row) are growing with gay abandon,  the pepper and cucumber plants have been ravaged by that round fat little worm that gnaws away at the roots and kills the plants. I’m looking to the day when I can round up all these pests and treat them to a gigantic spoon of chilli powder – and I won’t give them any water to drink.

 

 

 

White and pink varieties of the African Daisy (I think)

I’m happy with the blooms of these two flowers at my office garden. They continue to spread too – I cut off the baby plant from its parent and it starts growing independently yielding more flowers. Isn’t nature wonderful?

 

In the meanwhile, I received rose cuttings again from a friend of my daughter. These are yellow roses; I had the audacity to ask my daughter to go and request cuttings from the neighbor. The good soul sent more than ten of them. It is really not too difficult to propagate roses. Here are the tools and the cuttings:

Rose cuttings and the tools

I guess the photo is self explanatory. The rose cuttings on the right are trimmed to remove flowers and trim off the leaves too. Make a clean cut just below a node, dip the cut surface in a rooting hormone and insert it in prepared soil (which is light and contains vermiculite, etc.). Stick the cutting deep inside so that it doesn’t budge.

 

Rose cuttings planted

And the results are as you see above.

Until the next post, happy gardening!

 

Technorati Tags: Broccoli,cauliflower,potateos,eggplant,rose cuttings

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Home garden blooms

Since this year, I have tried to grow only flowers and fruits in my home garden and moved the veggies to my office garden.  A small plot with salad leaves and leftovers from the office garden still remains. But first, let’s go to the blooms.

Geranium

These geraniums are the permanent feature of my garden. They take care of themselves – no water, minimal care (like removing deadheads), and they bloom profusely year after year.

 

Next, here are the irises. Thanks to my good friend, Utiyama-san, who gave me some irises last year; they have responded splendidly!

Irises

I’m planning to add some different colors this year – so next year promises to be exciting!

This May has been the month of the rose for me. Last year, my daughter received a bouquet of roses. We placed it in a flower vase with water for a few days and before throwing them away, I decided to take cuttings of the roses. The result: 4 rose plants (two on my balcony and two in the ground).

Rose – balcony

Rose – balcony

Here are some snaps of the rose plants on the ground:

Rose – ground

 

Transplanted the Yesterday, today and tomorrow plant from pot to ground, and I’m happy with the splendid fragrance of the plant. Every morning, I sit for a while with a cup of tea in front of this plant enjoying the sweet fragrance while feasting my eyes on the roses. Here it is:

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

I have to take cuttings of this plant and propagate them next year!

 

 

A new addition to my home garden this year is the orange tree. I stuck in a thick stake adjacent to it for support. The fruit trees in my home garden are now four – persimmon, peach, fig and orange. Of these, only the persimmon in its eight year has been yielding fruit. The rest are 1-2 years old.

 

Orange tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My small herb garden is doing well too. The oregano is trying to take over the entire plot; I need to trim it to a reasonable size.

Camomille and Torch Lily are the two additions to my herb garden, thanks to Utiyama-san again.

Next month is the ideal time for propagating plants in my region – so I plan to propagate quite a few flowers this time including some fragrant roses!

 

Until the next post, Happy Gardening”

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Camomille,torch lily,iris,yesterday,today and tomorrow,rose,orange