Many years later

This is the purdah-bel, or curtain creeper; flowering in March

I am writing a blog post on this blog after years. There has been so much gardening activity around the house that the whole view has changed. But I could not record it on the blog due to the sheer work that grips me in getting so much done in a day, including the garden.

This is already the middle of March now. The spring blossoms are fading away, and summer is approaching rapidly. Every onset means new adjustments. Today I have got a little tank installed to take care of the water that the RO system throws out.For several years now that water was draining on the grass of the front lawn, but I always was uncomfortable that so much minerals are going into the earth. Now with the new plan this water will be recycled for mopping and cleaning, instead of watering the garden.

 Marigold bushes flowered  outside my bedroom  in the back lawn.  

I am also removing the little elevation I call 'pahadi' on the southeast side of the garden as the Malati creeper has made that area a bit less sunny and no flowers grow their any more; though I have recently planted another fern plant there. I hope to remove the iron fence and put grass till the wall in that corner; so that even the dogs have more space to run around. Of course that much of stretch is hardly any growth in the size of the garden. As it is, two trees have already taken firm roots over there- the harsingar/parijaat and the christmas tree.

Maybe I could post a few more pictures especially because outside my own bedroom window such beautiful Sunnenerias are blooming right now, and of course before we start breaking the wall in front to make room for more planters as I am hoping to and mom is furious about!

First time what gardeners colloquially call chlorodumdum, flowering  

the garden at the main gate

i worked very hard this spring and wherever I could, I sowed flowers. Finally after all that effort, patient hardwork and innumerable times of getting the saplings I have brachichoma growing profusely outside the house in white and purple colours. In addition there is California poppies, the yellow flowers in the pictures here. The other alternative is the hardy calendula- also yellow, orange in colour, as well as the ever green marigold. In one of the pictures a bud of marigold is standing out in front of the camera lens.

the grass goes in a second -2nd March 2009

this is a picture of the back-lawn. Dash watches over as the gardener Sushil puts the grass in, my second attempt at the same. Earlier in the day i had gone all the way nehar-paar to get the grass- about 100 feet of it. 

ice-plant

i need to record this here as a separate entry just because i put this plant three times in for this season- not one plant but three times i had to get new saplings just to ensure one round of flowering. it nearly was a test of my tenacity or love for this plant-which i had discovered only last winter. but now seeing these flowers i just know that it was worth it.

two new varieties this year

these are two new varieties growing this year...cannot recall either name. just entry just to chronicle them here. some major changes in the garden in the offing...

chrysanthemums

i had quite a few varieties of chrysanthemums this year. but come spring and these flower is no more...anyhow here are a few pictures. these are naturally the fading blooms. though the earlier flowers were mostly maroon in colour or purple the last ones to come, these ones are white ones. took this picture just this morning.

readying for spring this winter

this is the west side of my home. in these beds one can see broccoli planted as the smaller plant and below that is the ashwagandha plant...in the little pots there i have planted daisies, not sure what they look like yet!

portulaca

As i came out to click my portulaca blossoms guddi and mahavir- the husband/wife duo who work in my home were going out after the day's work. i clicked them too and how! just see their smiles- my flowers...all of god's creations. a smile is worth so much i think:)

this summer annual is flowering only in the baskets in my home this year and that too in just two colours ...but not bad. what do you think?

plants on the terrace

i am extending the scope of my garden to the terrace- partly becasue i would want to see greenery everywhere and partly because it would help in keeping the home cooler in the summer. of course this is just the start and in a few months i would have to put the green net on top. in this picture the lady waters the chrysanthemums.

in this picture you see two of the girls- ginger and raga watering the plants with sujatha- the new incumbent....watering the plants or err...r..r...supervising?!

curry leaves

once upon a time, in my garden here a huge curry leaf plant grew. but when i left my house and went away the plant was 'consumed' by a parasitic creeper. when i returned this time i got this plant in a pot and om prakash put it in the soil. now finally i see it has taken root and you can see this as well.

an august view

grass is now green and everywhere i see the greens...the fence is looking greener, so is malati, tachoma and the ficus trees...and this view is just a trick in the garden. am loving the idea of using my imagination to shoot the house from various angles and positions.

green net

this year i finally put this green net on a part of the driveway to save the plants from the harsh sun. on another side of the house too- near the front lawn i put this net, but it was not done so firmly with support of the bamboo.

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garden view

this is a view of the garden from the living room. naturally from behind the iron fortress. i just thought i would put it here for the sake of it...not that it looks any nicer from behind the rods of iron!

mowed grass

dogs love the smell of freshly mowed grass. each one of them has their own views about the matter and here i catch them one evening...

verdant august

this month, with intermittent rains, this is how one part of the garden is looking...green and curtain like. I am so relieved that finally the empty, bare grills of the house are going to be covered by a curtain of the greens. this view is of the north side of the house, what you see here is the living room windows and the enclosed area in the garden on the north side. in this space i was hoping to grow perennial plants and for now tis hibiscus, juniper, bougainvillea, basil, curry-leaves and ficus growing of at least two varieties. oh yes! one more creeper whose name is not known to me.

गार्डन creeper

यह टेकोमा की बेल है। जब मैं अक्टूबर में यहाँ आई थी तब पूरी लोहे की रेलिंग खाली थी। आजकल यह काफ़ी फैल गई है और देखिये कैसी दिख रही है। इस फोटो मैं रागा उसके sआमने खड़ी हुई है। इस पर संतरे रंग के फूल भी खिल रहे है, इन दिनों में।

mataji in the garden

we call our granny 'mataji' she usually doesnt come to the garden ever and certainly never puts her foot down on the grass coz one the dogs keep making little holes which can be troublesome and then the cushioning effect of the grass probably makes her feel a little insecure. i would not blame her at 87 for all those imaginary fears.

so here is mataji standing and looking at my garden and the flowers around in the entire house. now we have been in this house for a little over four months and gee...spring is not all that bad here. i counted a maximum of 15-16 varieties of flowers that are growing right now or in the recent past (coz roses are no longer blooming due to my shifting them from pots into the soil)

poppy flowers

i was about to pluck this plant as a weed, when rajesh the gardener told me it was a poppy plant. so now when i see the flowers in spring, i realise what a mistake i could have made.

praying for the safety of the new croton

in my house one has to not only look after the other needs of the plants but occasionally the safety too, as nikki is very fond of ripping things apart. i am sowing at least one of these crotons outside our main lobby door. along with it there is an intention to put in a climber of grapes. Amen!

another color of my rose

now the rose beds are nearly ready, soon we will be transplanting our plants to their new soils. meanwhile here is another that grew in the pots...