Colour and Scent

The garden is waking up. Wherever I go, I am welcomed by fragrance. And since it is Saturday when The Propagator hosts Six-on-Saturday, his weekly show-and-tell, here are six bits of my garden today.
1. Iris! Last week, I exulted about the first few flowers. And now they are all in bloom. Not the kumaun iris, but the other two- the lavender and the smoky one- each have a distinct fragrance. Here are photos

2. Honeysuckle : I have planted this at all four corners of our house,and I am so glad I did. Right now, I am sitting in my bedroom and writing this. Every time there is a breeze, I smell  the honeysuckle. Absolute bliss

3. Greed. Well, let us call it planning. Remember the magnolia whose first flower I was so enchanted with last week? Well, now I have decided that one is not enough. I am making more. There were four remarkably convenient branches for layering, and that's what I have done. If all goes well, next
monsoon, I will have not one,but FIVE magnolias!

4. Red rose: I have spoken of the rose outside my bedroom wall before, but here it is in full blossom. Not scented, sadly. But the colour is almost enough.

5. As for this rose, I am not keen on the colour, but the fragrance  is  classic ittar of roses. For that, I would give it space even if it was fuchsia with ochre stripes!

6. And Project.
I have this wall. It is lush with ferns in the monsoon, but the rest of  the time it is just meh. I planted some succulents,but they look forlorn and not happy at all. And yes, there are thistles.

But now, I hope to  change that. Am planting what may be a bergenia,but again may not  be.It grows wild here and I love it.

And I am also planting this, also a wild flower.I have no idea what it is,but I lubs it  I do. Can anyone identify this?

If you want to participate in this rather fun thing, here are guidelines.

Flowers!

Finally! My garden is still largely  brown,I am afraid- the chickens see to that. But there are some splashes of carefully protected colour.
Let's take a look, shall we?
1.  Freesia: My first ever. And while the scent is not very strong, it IS lovely.

2.Magnolia. I was given this shrub four years ago, and this year it has flowered. A luscious winy colour, the nuances of which I cannot capture and a even more enchanting lemongrass fragrance. I am in love with this!

 3. Erigeron. Probably bellidiodes. A more cheerful flower I have never seen. Its ubiquitous nature means that most of the people here sneer at it, but I simply cannot get enough! Over the last few monsoons I have been slipping a root or two here and there, and am now well rewarded.

4. Iris. They are out! or atleast in the process of blooming. Still a week or so to go before the peak, but there is this one variety, which is very common here and the first to flower. So far, I have four varieties and am eager to get more.  Here is the flowering iris

And here is my iris bed..eager to have them all flower!

5. Amaryllis. As common as mud here, with every house having a bank of these. And the colour is a little too garish for me. But I have gotten used to them, and will miss not seeing their shouting faces in spring. And so they stay.

6. Roses! The ones outside my bedroom window have begun to flower

 We just have a couple now. But look at all these buds!

As you probably guessed from the numbering, this post is part of the 'Six on Saturday' hosted (and initiated) by The Propagator, a man whose mad propagation skills totally justify the capitalization. Please do go over to his blog to see him and other gardeners detailing six things from their garden.

Stinkin' rich

On Saturday the 31st of March, Mian had the first sales from his bakery 'Pao'. We went to two places with bread in our car, and he sold bread to those who had read his email announcing where we would be and when.

This  day has been a long time in the making. Arranging the simplest things like reliable fuel and ingredients has been incredibly difficult. To top it off, he has had to fit in this work as and when he could find time from his other work.

And he has done it.

 I am incredibly proud of him. Our neighbours? They were jubilant. Scarcely half an hour after he sent out that email, the first replies came pouring in offering congratulations,  expressing joy, placing orders for bread.

One friend, the first to reply, wrote that she wished us well but would not be there on Saturday; she was leaving for Delhi at dawn. No matter, we said. There is always another time. But on Friday evening, she and her husband called. We can't leave without your bread, they said. Have you baked some yet?

Yes, Mian had.

And so  those two, in the middle of all the work that leaving home for a week entails, walked down to buy bread that they would then lug to Delhi. Because Pao was opening, and how could they miss it?

The happiness from that visit carried us to the first halt, where very soon,a party sprouted. They all came. All the people that we have known over the years and have been looking forward to the bakery. They brought friends. They stopped and chatted and gossiped, and shared their delight that they now have a fine bakery in their little mountain village.

My heart overflowed with joy and gratitude when  a large car overflowing with a larger German Shepherd pulled up. This was A,an octogenarian friend of ours and who I want to be when I grow up. She had come all the way from the next village to buy a few loaves from Mian. She bakes bread at home, we were planning to stop by her home and drop off a loaf or two anyway. There was no need for her to come. But she did. Of course I have to come, your bakery has opened! she said.

At the next stop, we had miscalculated times and realised that it was lunchtime when we were there..very few people would come. We were not the only ones who realised our gaffe with the timing. A neighbour came at the start of the time when we had said we would be there, and stayed on, ostensibly chatting, for the next hour till others showed up. We had no time to feel nervous.

And there is another dear couple who have been a support since the start. They were a large part of how I overcame my fear of tearing up such  roots as I had set down in Dehradun and moving up here, and have been close always. In all the years that the bakery was taking shape, they have been our go-to for  advice, for encouragement, and for venting.

And I knew they would not be able to come. They live far away, they make their own bread, they are crazy busy, and they have no transport. Besides which, they had been so much a part of the setting up and are so much a part of the future plans, I imagined that this one day was not important in the scheme of things. And I was content.

Precisely ten minutes before we were scheduled to wrap up, Mian's phone rang. I heard his answers.. He said that 'the day had gone well'. 'we sold most of the bread, very little is remaining'. He listed the loaves that were left. And then he began laughing, "you are too much!"

He hung up and told me what had brought that smile to his face. "He told us to wait a bit, he's taking all the remaining bread. We are not to drive back home with any bread in the boot." It is then that I teared up.

I am both  humbled and euphorically happy to see the friends that we have. Friends who genuinely care about us, who take the effort to show their support and love.  I am also extremely proud  of  Mian; friendship and love both need to  be earned. If he has such love showered on him, it is  because he too gives it.

In all probability, the bakery will do well. With Mian's knowledge and our friends' appreciation,  with his hard work and their support, it hardly has any option but to do well. But in my opinion, we are already stinking rich with friends.

Forgive us, Mahabali

The Hindu mythology I grew up with was the old version rooted in the lands south of  the Vindhyas. In these stories, there were the three levels of  people- the gods  in their heaven, the people on earth, and the Asuras in the netherworld- just as in the Gangetic Plain version of the stories.

But the North Indian version is strictly in black and white, and the South Indian version is in a glorious mix of greys. And this brings us to Mahabali, whose story is my favourite Diwali legend. Mahabali, the Great Bali, was a good and great King. So good, in fact, that his subjects no longer sang the praises of the gods or propitiate them with sacrifices. Angered by this,the gods sent Vishnu to kill him, which Vishnu managed by using Bali's goodness against him. At the end, Bali knew what Vishnu was upto. But rather than go back on his word, Bali allowed Vishnu to send him to the underworld. He requested only one boon- that he be allowed to return for one night every year and check on the wellbeing of those he loved.

And so on one night, for the last few thousand years, a loving king walks across his land visiting his people. And his people? Well, they know that while Bali is concerned about them, he also cannot help them trapped as he is. Rather than sadden him, they want to make his one night here a happy one. And so, no matter how financially worried or sad we might be for the rest of the year, on Narak Chaturdashi we put a happy face on matters. Every family, no matter how poor,has something sweet in the house. The houses are lit up with even those in mourning keeping a lamp lit that night. And i have always loved this concept, of the whole country conspiring across centuries to hide their unhappiness to reassure someone they love.

However in recent years, the mythology of the Gangetic plains has become the dominant one and we are losing all the regional festival stories. I was grieved two years ago when my mother told me, with tears in her eyes, that the people of Sawantwadi has begun to follow the North Indian custom of burning an effigy of Narak Raja (as Bali is known there) and abusing him as an Asura.I was sad too, but there was at least the reassurance that my mother and I welcomed Bali with love.

And today, when my mother and I were talking, she began to insist that Bali was an oppressive king, that he laid waste to farms and forests, that Vishnu did a good thing by killing him. At an intellectual level, I am angry about the rise of a dominant narrative that is overruling the many complex stories that the Hinduism I grew up with. But I have realised  that a part of me always believed  in Bali,and that part is deeply grieved at what he must feel when he visits us these days.

So sorry, Mahabali, forgive us.

Rain!

Our little village is supposed to have one-two weeks of snow in the winter, and a week or so of rain in February. This winter, we had half a day with a light smattering of snow, and two days of rain. Last night, we had another day of rain.
And of course, a day of gentle rain in middle march means all the seeds hear the starter's pistol. When the dogs and I walked in the garden today morning, we saw many self-sown seeds- borage, parsley, sunflower, marigold that had emerged overnight.
And with everything sparkling and lush, it is a good time to share six things from the kitchen garden for this Saturday.
But first, a peek at the orchard.

1. There's vetch there, and clover, and grass. And despite that, the hens still prefer to scratch around in my seedlings. So every morning I walk them to the garden, and every morning, they follow me back home. But they are very scenic.

2. Potatoes. I have never planted them before. Actually, I haven't planted them yet. Mian wanted home grown potatoes, and G wanted to please Mian. And so one day I walked out to see G planting potatoes from his store.

3. Peas. These I definitely had a hand in planting. I used the last handful of last year's peas yesterday. Now it is time for more. These are just thinking of setting flower buds.

4. Lettuce. Merveille De Quatre Saisons. and truly a Merveille. This is our third year of planting them and they never fail to please. With a bit of frost cover, they keep chugging along through the winter, and are just beginning to bolt. Need to eat them up then.

5. Tomatoes! Brinjal! Chillies! All seed I had saved (except the brinjal). And now they are just beginning to sprout under their covers.

6. Garlic. And self-sown coriander. The garden gnomes alone know where the coriander came from, but I don't mind at all.

The 'six-on-saturday' meme is hosted by The Propagator. In his words, it's "Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a pest, a success, a project, a plan, an abject failure – anything at all!" So if you want to find out what's happening in other gardens, do go on over to his blog!

Is it spring yet?

My garden, the human-interfered part at least, begs to differ.Thingsthere are still brown and dusty. But in the  larger world, things are waking up.This Saturday  then, I am focusing on those bits of the land that clearly have a much better gardener than I.
1.  The Gentians are out! Not peaking yet, that will happen a couple of weeks later. But enough to bring that surge of happiness one gets when one sees a loved friend.

2.  And the Hypericum is  sending out new growth in such lovely muted colours. Look  closely and there's grey, purple, red and yellow along with  the green.

3. And there is this. Very pretty little flowers that grow in the shade. The  flowers attract pollinators and  are slightly fragrant; it is the roots that  are highly scented. I usually find it growing in cool and dampish walls. The leaves are oval with a blunt  end..something like a drop, with the narrow end near the stem. The source I usually refer to calls it a Valerian, but the leaves don't match up. Does anyone know this?

4.  I have planted two grape cuttings begged from a neighbour. They are planted in large pots, on either side of our door. The idea is to train them up the west wall where they will live happily ever after. Please do keep your fingers crossed that  they'll root!

5.The spirea is unfolding it's buds. These are always the first of my shrubs to leaf out, and I love the promise they bring.

6. And finally, Help!! Something is eating my azalea buds.The same dastardly creature also ate my hydrangea buds last summer. It  just takes a bite of each bud,and when the flowers open they are disfigured. I have hunted in the plants and cannot find anything like a caterpillar.And my garden is too dusty and dry for snails and slugs. Please help!

 This weekly event- of showcasing six things from one's garden- is hosted by The Propagator. Please do head on over to  his blog. Reading the other six-on-saturday posts is a lovely bit of weekly garden visiting I have become quite addicted to!

Romantic stuff

Last month, Mian and I celebrated our anniversary. Well, when I say 'celebrate', I am not being very accurate. I was 2000 kilometers away from him that day. Also the weeks preceding and after. My family was horrified. Mian and I were sad, but determined to make the most of it. 'We celebrate every moment we are together', said I to those who asked, ' a particular day is not that important.'
That  was only the partial truth. All days are special, some are more special than others. And to prove it, Mian sent me a photo of the gift he had been  working on for me.Here it is then, the first of my six on Saturday.
1. A pool. I have wanted one for as long as I can remember. And now here it is. Slowly, I will add a bog area and plantings, I will invite wildlife but make sure the dogs still have a clear space to wallow, there will be stools for Mian and I to perch on. But it could not be any more perfect.

2.  Nurture. Mian loves a garden, but he is not a lover of the process of gardening. And so the daily fussing over plants is my job and my joy. But he knows how much the plants mean to me. This time, when I had to be away from home at this always-difficult time where winter and spring war with each other,  he took on the responsibility of cossetting my seedlings.I had only requested that he water and cover them. He has been doing that and more..moving them into the sun, out of the wind, indoors, outdoors,and all over. And this is what  they look like now:

I have the best husband on this or any other planet.

3. Snow. I missed the only snow day of the year.Unless  February is very wet, we face a long and  hard spring and summer. No winter precipitation means increased disease, no soil moisture, no spring recharge, and increased forest fires.

4.  To  prove what a warm and dry winter this has been, everything in my garden  is coming up early. The winter jasmine usually flowers in mid-feb. But here it is now. Beautiful, yes.But also worrying.

5.Every year, I am taught the lesson of being  patient when it comes to declaring that spring is here. And every year, I do not learn it. I could not wait and transplanted some seedlings and divided some perennials. And now frost is predicted.

6. The photo is not very good because it  was taken with  my phone. But can you see a strange outgrowth  near the chick's neck? That's not an outgrowth. The chick was attacked (by something strong enough to  make the wound, and daft enough to let it escape.We strongly suspect the pup was trying to play with it) and now has a flap of skin and feathers. Mian  nursed the chick till it recovered,but both he and I are nervous about cutting the flap off. But 'tis one of those  things that must be done, and done quickly..

And that's it for this week! Will my transplants survive for the next Six-on-Saturday? Will the chick? Oh the drama that is a garden.

As always, please do go on to The Propagator's blog. He hosts Six on Saturday, and you will find an ever-growing list of interesting gardeners and their updates.

End-of-winter work

Every day that passes now tells me that spring is coming. The days are longer, the first winter jasmine is out. And so we gleefully launch into tasks that boldly believe the freeze is over. Here are six end-of-winter happenings in my garden. For more, head on over to The Propagator's blog and his Six-on-Saturday posts!

1. Planting:
Remember the desolate fenced area I had shown earlier? I have now decided that it will be a gold and white seating area.There is already forsythia and azalea, but this year I will add hypericum and berberis, narcissus and lycoris. In the meantime for a quick (non gold and white) fix I have transplanted my phlox. The twigs are to protect from chickens, the pine needles are to protect from frost and sun.

 2. Acorn collection: CHIRAG, that works on all things environmental in the area, has started collecting acorns for the spring sowing. The forests have been decimated by over-exploitation and increased occurrence of forest fires. Regular sowing will help conserve these for the future. Our house has become the centre for seed collection in the neighbourhood. Children have their winter holidays now and are encouraged to collect acorns and bring them over. They get Rs.12/kg, which is a good sum for a bit of pocket money.

3. Bordeaux time: Buds are sprouting on the fruit trees and roses. Which means it is that time of year when I use the household utensils to process chemicals. We make a bordeaux mixture every year to spray the peaches and roses with. One day of spraying, and Peach Curl and Black Spot are held at bay!

 4. Feeding the bees: And last week the Himalayan Cherries were through with flowering. Mian and I opened up our hive to give the bees some jaggery. Not much development since autumn, but atleast they are alive..need to learn more about bee keeping.

5. Winter is still here though. And so I am continuing to sprout grain for the chickens.

6. And in case you think Mian and I are the only ones working here, here's a photo of the Great Tunnel

Flowers in winter

The 'six-on-saturday' meme is hosted by The Propagator. In his words, it's "Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a pest, a success, a project, a plan, an abject failure – anything at all!" So if you want to find out what's happening in other gardens, do go on over to his blog!

And when you do, you will find that other gardens have a lot of flowery stuff going on even at the end of winter. I determined last week to go out and see if I do not have atleast six flowers going on in my garden too. Guess what? I do!

Here they are

1. Marigolds: A little tired at this time of the year, but still happy

 
2.Ditto the hydrangea. 

3. Nothing tired about this Saptarangi rose, though it is the last one of the season.

4. Nasturtiums still going strong too

5. The rosemary is looking a little washed out in the photo. A pity, because it is quite pretty really

6. My Sweet Williams have been flowering all winter. True, just one plant that managed to find itself shelter under the jasmine, but a lovely thing nevertheless.

Six on Saturday- the hopes and dreams edition

Okay. It's that time of the year again- Reckoning time. You know what I mean..the time when you turn the pages of your garden journal back to a page headed '2017!', look at a sketch on which is marked 'winter garden here', and then raise your eyes to the wasteland that still remains. Oh, it's just me doing that? Never mind then.

Because it is also the time of second chances. The time when you turn to a crisp and blank page, head it '2018!' and sketch another map. I thought it'd be fun to share some of my big plans with you..and actually, was hoping for suggestions too.

But let's start with the happy stuff.

1. Nasturti-yums: Believe it or not, I actually planted nasturtiums unsuccessfully for a couple of years, only to lose them to the hens. This time, they are in pots. And they are stunning!

2. Misplaced yucca: Last year, a good friend of Mian's decided to stay with us for a while. I wanted to give him something nice by the entrance to the guest room. Something welcoming that he could look at while sitting on the steps. And so of course, I moved two spiny yuccas from near the path to the doorway. Structural, with lovely shades of cerulean and jade, they were amazing in that spot. So amazing in fact, that I never moved them back. But they have been growing all this time, and will grow even more.

And so this winter I will move them. The question is, where? I have three spots where they will be perfect. And a coin has only two sides..

3. The Iris bed: It looks bare now, and the chickens do damage it a lot, but I actually am quite happy with this. It has a comfy bench, and a nice little succession of iris-mirabilis-marigolds going on.

And speaking of goings-on, please do look at the Madhu-Kochanie Digging Project. I hate to deter them, they are having so much fun!

4. The walk down: It's looking better with the proper path. And I actually have a lot planted there..hydrangeas, magnolia, chaenomeles, chrysanthemums, salvia, weigela, digitalis. They just need to pull their socks up now.I am aiming for a pinky purply shrub walk.

5. The fenced garden: Across the path from the iris bed. Admittedly, it is at its worst now.

It does have some colour in it later in the year. The problem is that barring one each of azalea, rose and forsythia this area is rather annuals-dependent. But it has a view of the mountains, which makes me want a table and chairs there. More perennials needed.

6. The Winter Garden: Blah. Bah. Humbug. I think I will indulge myself in a separate post detailing my woes. But till then, look at the awfulness:

The 'six-on-saturday' meme is hosted by The Propagator. In his words, it's "Six things, in the garden, on a Saturday. Could be anything – a flower, a pest, a success, a project, a plan, an abject failure – anything at all!" So if you want to find out what's happening in other gardens, do go on over to his blog!