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Monday, July 30, 2012

Lily ------ My One and Only

  Water lilies are an attraction in many parks or any big restaurants where they have it along with  some   koi fishes . At last it has cast its spell on me lately .

  This marvelous beauty , once an luxury , has at last found its place in my home  garden .
While water lilies appear delicate, don't let their exotic aura fool you. These flowers are as tough as they are beautiful. They do well in any Climatic conditions .

  They grow from tubers planted in pots beneath the water and send up stems with rounded leaves and star-shaped blossoms that float on the surface. Daytime bloomers, they blossom in the morning and close after sunset, lasting three or four days before sinking beneath the surface.

  On my recent visit to a nearby nursery i saw them in cement ponds . Blooming very lavishly . When inquired i was told that the lily would almost give us a bloom all 365 days a year .
Its also noted that if we have a big pond , it would multiply itself , but unfortunately i have a very small pond  . In fact the plant was a little big for my pond and the leaves were spreading outside the pond and i had a doubt they might not survive well. But after a month i noticed that the lily actually accommodated itself according to the size of the pond and now produce smaller leaves .


 A month later ...




   And yes the nursery keeper was right . It gives me a bloom everyday . I had just placed it in a place where there is sunlight for at least 6 hours .

  I am planning to add some Guppies fish to it . so that it can feed on the algae forming and indirectly protect the plant as well .

And along with the lily , i was given these water plants for free .....Looks lovely too ...


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Adenium ( or ) Desert Rose


  I came to know about Adenium a few years back , when i bought the first one from a local nursery . one of the PRETTIEST flowers you can imagine: it grows on leafless succulent stems that can form a largish shrub. The lovely colors attracted me and i was very much impressed when i was told that it is a water tolerant plant and doesn't need much care and all it need is sunlight .

  But only recently did i come to know that there are so many color in adeniums and these are the easiest choices to make a Bonsai .

  My first adenium bought few years back is still growing great and i have collected seeds from it and my dad succeeded in growing them from seeds , that now most of my garden is covered with adeniums germinated from seeds . its in surplus now that we have kept it on the roads outside our house and it blooms always and cows don't eat them .

  Recently , i have started collecting different colors of adeniums . Now i have about 6 - 7 colors and plan to add more .

  They require less soil . less manure , very less water and almost no maintenance . But gives you blooms all throughout the year .

  Wat a faithful plant .....




Read more about trimming Adenium here

Monday, July 23, 2012

Glad about Gladiolus

Gladiolus is a genus of perennial bulbous flowering plants in the iris family .It is sometimes called the 'Sword lily', but usually by its generic name.

I never had an idea about gladiolus until my cousin who lives in Bangalore gave me few bulbs to plant . Now after some research i remember seeing this in some flower bouquet shops . This is supposed to be a major cut flower used in flower arrangements .

I generally had an opinion that such exotic flowers requires a chill climate like that of Bangalore , so i really hesitated to plant this , however i want to give it a try .
Next thing , i totally forgot about it and a week later when i observed , i was surprised to see the shoots coming up rapidly .

Now am so curious for two reasons .
1. If they start blooming i can grow them more in my Chennai garden .
2 . I would know what color this bulb is only after it blooms .

Now this is how it looks in my garden .....Planted a week back .

    

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Gardening as an Hobby


The daily routine and hum-drum of life make us yearn for something unusual. We seek something that can make us feel interested. A hobby is, therefore, essential for the proper enjoyment of life. A man without a hobby is a round peg in a square hole.

My joy knows no bounds when I enter the garden. I dig the earth , I manure it . I weed and hoe the plants. I prune the hedges. I sow the seeds. I water the tender plants. I watch the seeds germinate, grow and sprout.

There is no better way than a visit to our garden early in the morning . It feels so enchanted,
where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever .

I am so obsessed with plants . That is why i named my blog like this . Gardening runs in my family . I am at times very obsessive and compulsive when i come across new plant varieties .

With this new blog , i plan to show the nice progress in my garden and share all other interesting stuff i come across with regards to gardening .

And here i come , To join all those avid gardeners out there ......