February Blooms ~ Succulent Flowers from My Indoor Plant Kalanchoe

My top three choices to give and receive

Flowers
Books
Kitchen stuff

What would you like to give or get as gifts?

Pink Perfection ~ Camellia in Bloom

You know how some first impressions last a lifetime? First time I saw a camellia in bloom was about 20 years ago, during a college trip to Kodaikanal botanic gardens. It was a quick glance, may be few seconds but I remembered those palm sized big beauties and their endearing perfection. It was on my must have plants since then, and I was finally able to plant camellias last November. The variety photographed above is called Pink Perfection and is in full bloom this winter. The flowers are so gorgeous; I think the photo really does not do justice to this pink perfection.

From The Garden ~ Angel Face Rose

This beautiful lavender rose plant is a gift from Vijay to moi. No reason, just because I still live and breathe, I guess.:) I adore it for the gorgeous, grand blooms and the strong, sweet fragrance.

Gorintaaku Puvvulu (Henna Flowers) from Backyard

Henna plant is in bloom since July. I don’t remember ever noticing henna flowers at Nandyala, and I am surprised at the beauty and fragrance of henna’s pretty petite flowers.

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WV Log for Day 11:

Morning:
2 pesarattu with coconut chutney
A glass of ragi ganji without sweetener

Noon:
A small cup of brinjal-papdi lilva curry (vankaya-anapaginjala kura)
A bowl of masoor dal rasam with cherry tomatoes
A small cup of homemade yogurt

Evening:
A cup of ginger tea without sweetener

Night:
A small cup of chickpea guggullu (Mangala Gouri Vratha Vayanam from a friend)
A small cup of brinjal-papdi lilva curry
A cup of masoor dal rasam with key lime pickle on the side
For dessert: A cup of apple with yogurt

Workout:
Decided to take a break from gym this week. Prepared saggubiyyam vadiyalu for sun-drying – morning
Pillow covers sewing project still going on – evening

In Retrospect:
Pleasant day. No carbo cravings.

Rose from Front yard

It is getting quite warm here in Houston. The backyard vegetable garden seems to thrive under hot and humid conditions. Tomatoes, peppers, bendi and brinjals are fruiting well. Some of you emailed me about tomatillo status. It is growing like a lanky teenager. Lot of vertical growth with flowers but no tomatillos so far. I could not get another tomatillo plant this year for cross-pollination. If I plant next time, there will be a pair.

The vegetable vines are also doing well. Red alasanda (Asparagus beans) are growing like there is no tomorrow and producing lot of pods. Chikkudu (Indian broad beans) are also flowering a lot. Karela, Turai, Zucchini, green beans, cucumber are coming up slowly.

For vegetable vines, Vijay and father-in-law together built a support system with some wooden beams. The frame is four columns, one in each corner. Connected them horizontally with three sawed and sized beams. One on each end and another one in the middle. The gap between the beams is filled with wire mesh. Near the vegetable vines, we stuck four to six small sticks. Tied a twine to each stick and connected the twine to wire mesh above. The vines are following the twine to the frame. The support system is nothing fancy, but it seems to do the job.

Here are some photos from the backyard.

Row of Roses

Maruvam (Sweet Marjoram)

Cayenne Peppers

Banana Pepper

Bell Pepper

Tadka Mirchi (Chili Pequin)

Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Kakara (Karela, Indian Bitter gourd)
(The vine is following the twine that is tied to the stick in the ground.)

Homemade Vine Support for Vegetable Vines

Henna Plant (Gorintaaku Mokka)

“Caldwell Nursery” is a small nursery near our home that sells one of a kind plants, roses and fruit trees. They also have a nice website and keep it updated with latest offerings. After going through the website I made a list. Visited the nursery in March, the planting season in Houston, bought henna and few other plants. The henna was a tiny potted one, but after planting in the ground, it is growing well.

My father in law, the master gardener, who is visiting us from Nandyala, wanted to trim the branches and add some support to help the new growth. As a result, I have a cup full of fresh henna. I’ve added few drops of tea decoction to henna leaves and made a fine paste in a stone mortar. Henna is a healthy herb, not only colors but also reduces the heat of the body. During hot months, what is better than henna to keep the hands and the head cool and colorful?

Henna Paste with Tea Decoction (Gorintaaku Mudda)

Champaka

In late 80’s, I read an article in a Sunday magazine of The Hindu newspaper. I still remember vividly its title and some of the pictures published in it. The title was, “Stunning Beauty in the Wild” and it was about the beautiful flowers in the wild and had some really stunning pictures printed. I saved that copy and it took me nearly over a decade before I could clearly understand how these pictures were shot, what type of lens were needed and also to shoot some pictures myself.

That article caught my attention and I was so fascinated by the beauty of the nature’s creation in the form of flowers and the ability of photographic equipment to capture that beauty.

I found such stunning beauty in my own backyard and tried to capture it through the lens.

Equipment:
Nikon Micro 105mm/f 2.8
Nikon D70s

Rose

Rock Rose Pavonia

Gardenia

Nooru Varahaalu (Ixora)

Pooja Pushpam ~ Mandaram

“When I get a home with backyard, I will plant this, this and that too.”

As long as I can remember, this has been my dream about home ownership. I know nothing is owned by us forever or this won’t be permanent, but at least for now, we are home. And there is a backyard. I am enjoying tilling the land and planting the seeds with dear Vijay’s help.

The backyard space we have is in rectangular shape. In the middle, in a row, we planted fruit trees. We think this would give the fruit trees ample space to grow without encroaching on the neighbors spaces. On the sides, we placed plantar boxes suitable for raised bed gardening. After considering all the options for vegetable gardening, we have decided on raised bed method. We thought they would look clean, and it would be easy to control the weed situation. So went and bought lumber from Lowe’s. Constructed 3’x6’x2′ and 2’x6’x2′ boxes. Four for each side, a total of 8 boxes.

Here are the photos:

Fruit trees: from left to right
Pomegranate, Guava, Fig, Mandarin, Loquat, blueberries, Barbado’s Cherry. We purchased the plants from Urban Harvest and FBMG fruit tree sale.

Right Side of Rectangular space:
I have kept the four boxes for kitchen basics:
Box 1: 6 kinds of tomatoes and 1 tomatillo plant
Box 2: chilli peppers – Indian hot variety also known as Thai chilli pepper, 2 Serrano’s, 1 bell pepper and 1 chili pequin (small, round peppers similar to tadka chilli type).
Box 3: Red onions, shallots and red potatoes
Box 4: I kept it for herbs and strawberries. Right now spearmint rules the space.

Left side of Rectangular space:
In four boxes, one box is for green leafy veggies like methi, gongura and spinach. Another one is for brinjal and okra. Remaining two boxes are for beans. So far I planted brinjal seedlings, gongura, methi, and okra seeds. Also beans, Indian broad beans, cucumber, lima beans, turai, peas, and zucchini. Each variety in a row. 5 rows for a box. There is still some space left.

My wish list:
Gawar, Karela (Indian type), Lemon cucumber, Parval, and Tindora seeds or seedlings.
Green brinjal and drumstick (Munagakaaya) seeds or seedlings.
Banana (apple banana) and papaya seedlings.
Catnip for kittaya.

What are you planning to plant this spring? Any tips and advice for this garden newbie? I would love to hear from you.