The Shortest Spring

 

Spring just sprang away this year! So here's a visual recap of the few high points.

A bed of blooming cornflowers that I spotted in the local park had this beautiful and unusual shade of purple.

This time my favourite season was surely a blink-and-miss, such was the intensity of the sun. We tried keeping cool with some yummy strawberry and cream. 

The daytime heat is almost touching 40 degrees and we are not even in mid-March. 

But thankfully we managed a lovely outing last month when the warm sun still felt good.

Bracing for a tough summer ahead...

Balcony Bliss

 

I am currently rediscovering the joys of a balcony. After living on the ground floor for the last half a dozen years, I am happy to be strung at treetop level again. 

Maroon chrysanthemums brightening my balcony 

Though I miss the expansive garden from our last home, including our backyard and veggie patch, the simplicity of container gardening has its own charm.

Parakeets are frequent visitors

Most days the first neighbours I see and hear are the feathered varieties. With open skies and a multitude of trees facing one balcony, birding comes as an in-house advantage.

A glimpse of the greens through the frosted window 

While the second balcony faces the road and a row of apartments, my greens give me ample opportunities to enjoy the space.

Republic Day flypast 

And on Republic Day, we viewed some amazing flypast by our armed forces since those beauties zoomed past right in front of our balcony.

Shiuli Season

 

When we moved into the ground floor apartment in Gurgaon, one of the first trees we planted was the Shiuli, more commonly known as the Harshingar or Parijat. Though my mother always had a shiuli plant in her well-maintained container garden, it had been a cherished wish of mine to have a shiuli tree of our own. Those lusciously fragrant dainty white flowers with their characteristic orange stems that fell as a carpet at the first touch of the sun tugged at my heartstrings. The sheer number of flowers laden on a tree planted directly in soil took the experience to another level. Those flowers and their heady fragrance held a lot of pleasant memories - of pujo, of the change of seasons and the onset of autumn, of my very identity as a Bengali. 

Shiuli flowers from our tree

The shiuli is a fairly large and tall tree, and an evergreen. It grows rapidly in the monsoon and requires a good pruning, so the flowers can come by autumn. But the flowering happens for only about a month in the entire year. And that month coincides with the peak festival season in most parts of India. Another reason why a glimpse of those flowers has happy associations.

Now the shiuli we planted in our front lawn started flowering right from the second year, giving us handfuls of white and orange every morning during season. As soon as the first rays of the sun touched the flowers, they would start dropping off, creating a fragrant carpet on the grass underneath. So we had a tradition of picking these flowers early morning, as soon as one was through with the morning ablution. Or sometimes between sips of hot tea. It was a revered tradition since the Bengali associate the shiuli flowering with the rise of the Divine Feminine.

Family tradition of Shiuli picking

But each morning as I plucked the shiuli, a few flowers invariably landed on the aloe vera shrub next to it. And aloe has thorns. Every attempt to reach the fragile shiuli flowers and brush them off the aloe reminded me of simple life lessons.

That much like life, the good and bad, the soft and the prickly, always show up together. And we have to navigate through the thorns to get to the beautiful flowers. Just like in life we have to wade through the unpleasant doggedly to get to enjoy a span of charming times. Then again, life is mostly mundane; the high points come only once in a while, like the festive season. And like the flowers of the shiuli. 

The last of the Shiuli flowers this year

So enjoy the good while it lasts, like the month-long shiuli season.

Celebrating April

 

April is always a busy and festive sort of month in our home. Sharing with you some glimpses of the month...

The first week we celebrate a birthday, and the next week we mark the anniversary of our move along with the start of the Bengali new year. 

This is also the month when the onset of summer becomes evident and the garden is full of the seasonal blossoms before the hot winds of May and June make everything barren. 

Our home has always been blessed with bowls full of sweet-smelling blossoms -- shiulis in autumn and bel or jasmine in summers. A tradition started by my mother and one that we happily continue.

For this year's new year celebration we served square rava idlis along with avocado on toast, a first for us. The avo guacamole turned out delicious and creamy and the idli-chutney combo made a hearty meal. Of course we prepared the traditional payesh too but forgot to click a picture.

Winter Flora and Fauna

The cold has been pretty brutal this year, mostly because we have hardly seen any sunshine. What should have been a cheery first post in the new year actually got to the finish line only because I had done my homework in the last month itself, when the sun was still out and the year-end festive feels kept up my mood somehow.

Indian Pioneer butterfly 🦋

All the creatures you see here have long disappeared due to the intense cold, fog and sunless days. So have the flowers...

But just a month back the skies were so clear and blue, that it appeared every creature was in celebratory mode. Including our national bird, that gave us quite a few grand appearances on our evening walks.

Proud peacock 🦚

While our chrysanthemums were blooming, this fellow would appear almost every day to bask in the sunshine. But once the weather turned grey and bleak, the poor guy turned black and sluggish, trying to warm itself on our front porch.

Garden gecko 🦎

I was intrigued by the colour of its wings, and initially mistook it for a bumblebee variety. Till I discovered it's real identity and saw it furiously collecting nectar from whatever blossoms it could find.

Carpenter bee 🐝

Finally a glimpse of our Lohri bonfire this year to beat the cold. Was a very short window of relief but we made good memories.

Praying for the sun to be out soon and for the soul-withering cold to abate.

Frangipani Fiesta

When we moved house four-and-a-half years back, I had to leave behind a few pots due to paucity of space. The yellow frangipani was one of them. 

The old yellow frangipanis

A cutting of the same I planted on ground in our new abode did not take well to the new soil and developed fungi, spoiling soon after.

The large fungi at the base of the yellow frangipani 

To make up for the loss, the hubby planted a stem of white frangipani taken from the neighbour's garden. 

The white frangipani 

A year later I got another cutting of a red frangipani from a cousin. This year they both flowered well, thanks to the abundant rains.

The red frangipani 

In case you are wondering why I'm inclined to call the good old Champa as the frangipani, well I admit I find this name rather exotic. This plant that adds a touch of regality to the garden comes in many colours, is native to south-east Asia, and is also called the plumeria. But the best part - it is hardy and easy to transplant. 

The Many Moods Of March

 

Unseasonal rains in March brought down the unusually high temperatures of February and gave us a prolonged spring, with pleasant weather and blossoms everywhere. Here is a visual record:

Meanwhile, the story of the purple sunbirds also took an unexpected turn. 

While the female was comfortably ensconced for some days and nights, and then seemed to be feeding her newborn chicks, something seemed to have happened that scared off the sunbird couple. 

One fine morning onwards they discarded the nest, though they hovered around in the vicinity and kept an eye on it. Whenever other similar-sized birds tried to get near, the sunbirds chased them off. Yet they wouldn't return to the nest, leaving us pretty much heartbroken.

Towards the end of the month, a large peepul tree in the lane was chopped down, just a day after I photographed it. The tree canopy was full of shiny new leaves, and it was time for the rosy starlings to arrive when this happened. 

It was saddening to see how completely disastrous the timing of this exercise was. No shade in summer in an uncaring world.... unfortunately that is where we seem to be headed now.

The Sunbirds In Spring

 

Come spring, quite a bunch of flowers started popping up in the front garden - roses, nasturtiums, ice, and marigold flowers - to name a few.

And one could hear the familiar call of the sunbirds, with the bright blue of the male glistening in the sun while the female sported a more subdued green and brown plumage. As they flitted from one flower to the next, inserting their beaks in to suck nectar, we watched their antics from the living room. They seemed to enjoy the hanging hen chime in the porch, clambering on to it on every visit.

Then I took off on a three day visit to Bangalore, and returned to find the purple sunbirds starting to build a nest on my wind chime. Of all the places they could have chosen, they found this to be the safest place! Hanging mid air, delicately balanced between two bells, the most fragile nest started taking shape bit by bit.

Day 2

Tiny blades of dried grass, dry leaves and twigs, and a fierce amount of determination went into building the nest. As we watched with awe, the tiny female bird made innumerable trips, bringing in materials and deftly sewing items together with her sharp hooked beak. Watching her was a lesson in dexterity and patience.

Don't miss the round-shaped doorway to the sunbirds' home, or the overhang they added to ensure the insides remain shaded in the growing heat. After all, every species looks out to provide the best for the babies.

Seeing the frenzied antics of the purple sunbirds, and their sheer diligence in building a secure and comfortable nest, reminded me of Kahlil Gibran's words. Words from 'The Prophet' that are not only well-written but very appropriate, where he describes the process of birthing as "Life's longing for itself". 

Meanwhile, this story is bound to have a second part as we keep an eye on the purple sunbirds and their attempts at raising a brood. Stay tuned!

Catching Up

 

Can't believe four months went by without me even thinking about this blog, leave alone posting. Goes to show just how mentally occupied I was with a thousand other things, right from a much-needed family vacation to a wedding in the extended clan.

But as I scroll through the photos on my phone, I realise there are things I'd like to document for posterity and share with the world. So here goes... a month-wise update seems appropriate.

August

Was a momentous month as the first-born started college.

September

After a long hiatus, I painted bottles again for a local fair. Zero sales notwithstanding, it felt good to reconnect with the old art form again.

October

Was the month of festivals, right from Durga Puja to Diwali. The youngest wore a saree for the first time, and loads of bonhomie and good food marked the various celebrations.

November

As we celebrated two decades of a life spent together, the much-awaited family vacay finally happened.

December

A wedding and get-togethers meant lots of occasions to go out and soak up some fun in the sun. But the real pleasure lay in a flower-filled home full of fragrances from festive year-end baking.

At the end of the day, it is the small joys that give the most happiness! 😊

Monsoon Diary

 

This year the monsoon has been kind to us. Keeping it cool and pleasant without drowning us out. So here's a visual diary of the season which is otherwise so welcome for the relief and renewal that it brings.

As the plants heaved a sigh of relief after battling the unbearable summer heat, one could see the garden looking visibly happy, and producing both flowers and vegetables. 

However a squall brought down the Gulmohar tree beside our house, damaging a car in the neighbourhood. And I promptly put up a piece of the lopped off trunk in the front garden. Had been meaning to add a tree trunk for a long time.... finally managed.

As the skies turned gray, the bright rain liles and portulacas provided perfect contrast by making the garden vibrant with their colours. Little pops of happiness!

Even though we diligently water our plants through summer, it is always amazing how a few drops of rain makes everything flower in such abundance. Our portulacas have been a source of joy, much like the beautiful skies above.

And flying the tricolour at our home to mark 75 years of India's independence added to our monsoon fun.

Hope the rains will remain enjoyable henceforth, and leave us with some good memories of this season.

Summer Blossoms

It is indeed nothing less than magical that despite the searing heat of our summer, some special blossoms managed to bring colour to the garden and joy to our hearts, even when everything was wilting to yellow and brown.

Our summers always begin with the bright red amaryllis. This time the last of the larkspur gave them the perfect pairing.

The globe or football lilies bloomed after three years of planting. They would keep growing new bulbs but refused to blossom. Out of sheer frustration I started using the pot for seasonals and promptly forgot about these bulbs buried under. Till a pair of these beauties showed up!

The sea daffodils share a similar story. Initially planted in a shady part of the backyard, they sprung to action about an year after being moved to a sunny area. Their exquisite shape is breathtakingly beautiful.

Now as the rains have started, we are waiting for the colourful portulaca to blossom.

 

Colours of Spring 2022

 

After one of the coldest winters on record, spring just didn't last long enough this year. Though this is a gripe I have almost every year, day temperatures warmed up so quickly this time that it felt as if we moved straight from winters to summers. 

But before we melt in the intense heat of full-blown summers, here are the best shots from the front garden.

I also changed my planting strategy this time and focussed on the hardy varieties that blossom easily without much fuss. 

Plus I created mixed pockets of colour all over the garden instead of keeping each area of a specific colour/variety. 

Decoratives and edibles blossomed side-by-side, like the poppies and brinjals.

Our newly created mosaic garden stake only added to the colours and drama.

Our red roses blossomed well, and were huge. Though we didn't get any cauliflowers, we got a profusion of gobhi-ke-phool!

In the final burst, lots of roses and some phloxes added a burst of colour. 

But they barely lasted a week since summer arrived a whole month early. And even as I write this post, Spring is already over!