Notes From The Backyard - I

Mango Out, Laburnum In

It is incredible how the passage of time brings about changes - in people and in places. Sometimes the change is quick and therefore more evident, and at other times it evolves at its own pace, slowly but surely, before one suddenly realises that things have changed. The same can be seen in our backyard.

As I wrote in some of my previous posts (that you can read here and here), the lush mango tree was the centrepiece of our backyard. Once that came down, the place looked a little barren, almost lacking character. But it also made the house feel much hotter, with no green canopy providing any shade. So last monsoon we decided to plant an amaltas or yellow laburnum tree in place of the mango.

Yellow Laburnum sapling - June 2023

Though many friends suggested we plant another fruit tree, but given the propensity for termite infestation in the area, we chose a flowering tree instead. Amaltas is also appropriate for the arid climate and clayey soil of Gurugram, and hence a locally viable species.

Yellow Laburnum in April 2024

Its abundant blossoms in summer, hanging merrily in bunches of bright yellow, look so beautiful as they spread a sweet scent in the air. So our vote went to the laburnum.

Purple sunbird nest hanging from a Laburnum branch 

Now barely a year old, the tree is already housing its first nest, all thanks to the sunbird family. Augurs well for the tree and the home, I hope! 🤞🏼🤞🏼

Magical Milestone

Today we completed five years of living in our current abode. Five years that passed rather quickly, I must admit! 

Much water has flown under the bridge since we came in.... and nowhere is the growth more apparent than in the way we have settled into a routine about everything, despite the frequent changes that we seem to face here. And of course, the growth can be seen in the children - from gangly teenagers loathe to changing schools in their higher classes, they gracefully dealt with a pandemic, a few losses, and a plethora of life lessons. And have now transformed into beautiful young adults who make us both happy and proud. But I digress...

Us in 2019

Today, on the auspicious occasion of the harvest festival Baisakhi, we had moved in five years back with dreams in our eyes and excitement in our hearts. Many of those dreams materialised, while some surprises were sprung at us too. But then, such is life - a mix of sweet and sour! 

Us in 2024

As we stepped out on the front porch today to enjoy the rainy afternoon, an amazing experience unfolded. A large bunch of rosy starlings chose to present their magical dance in the sky right before our eyes. 

Watching their mystical murmuration right over our heads seemed like a divine gift to mark our milestone in this abode. And perhaps a portent of things to come... But we all were so absorbed in watching the spectacle unfold that we didn't realise the camera wasn't recording. Such divine experiences are meant to be remembered only by the mind's eye!

Another Kitchen Makeover

If you look back through this blog, I had shared a kitchen-related post way back in November 2020. Much has changed around the kitchen since then as it seems to be the one place in the house that requires constant work.

Kitchen in 2019

To start with, the house next door got sold a little over a year back. The new owners wanted to carry out renovations as per their taste. Since one of the kitchen walls is shared, their over-the-top tile work had immediate repercussions in ours. The dampness caused one wall to peel through the year, barely six months after I had a patchwork paint job done for the peeling in 2022.

Meanwhile the adjoining wall with a wooden cabinet fared worse. It suffered an acute termite infestation and the cabinet had to be discarded, leaving behind a marked wall.

Missing cabinet - 2023

We had to rearrange all the crockery and stocks that were in the discarded cabinet. We also got a made-to-order iron rack in the kitchen that could hold the essentials like flour and rice.

Kitchen in 2024

Earlier this month when a neighbour was getting a house-painting job done, we got our kitchen a fresh coat too. The slab is still crowded but at least everything looks spring-cleaned.

My learning from these repeated episodes of kitchen renovation: the modular style just does not work here for the long term. Local workmen fool residents into believing that the newest materials are superior and will make a difference but the reality is far from that. In a place prone to general dampness, termite attacks, and even flooding, the only viable option is a metal and stone kitchen. The kitchen in my parents' DDA apartment fared much better, lasting well over 35+ years!

The Mango Tree Saga

The mango tree has always been an integral part of our love for this house. The first time we stepped in to see the house with our agent, the mango tree caught my eye. Green and lush, it gave the backyard a focal point and much-needed character. That it also produced fruits was not of much importance. What mattered was the perfect canopy it provided, given our location in the sunny tropics. 

After we had officially bought the property and repairs had commenced, the agent got the mango tree chopped a bit to give it a definitive shape. I remember it looked shorn when we moved in, and I missed its shady canopy. 

But in the next couple of years, the mango tree became lush again, and its canopy expansive. The shade it provided was so inviting that we spent many an afternoon working on our creative projects in its cool embrace. 

Situated right outside our bedroom, it was also a favourite with the birds, as their noisy chirrups woke us every morning. As we lay in bed on hot and endless summer days, looking at the lush leaves outside made us feel as if we were lying right under the mango tree. 

Just after moving in, we had an amusing episode with a bunch of local kittens who scrambled up the mango tree in a bid to escape us. You can read more about that here. For the first couple of years, the tree did not bear too many fruits. I made chutneys from the handful we got, happy to have gotten any produce at all. But last year the bees were plentiful and the tree filled up with flowers.

Soon there were fruits showing up aplenty in all the branches, filling our hearts with joy. Just the sight of them dangling cheerily, never mind the strong gusts of summer loo, gave us a lesson or two in resilience. 

And this was when the Delta strain of coronavirus was wreaking havoc everywhere. While we also lost loved ones, this tree and its bountiful fruits gave us hope. Hope that life always renews itself.

In June we harvested a huge crop of sweet, juicy mangoes that we distributed to family and neighbours as well. Basketfuls of the king of fruits right in our backyard was such an indescribable blessing!

Then in July that year, the rains came in torrents, filling up the roads and open stretches, and with water entering our houses. Even after the rains subsided, the ground remained wet and humid for weeks. That is when the termites came, making the mango tree trunk their home and eating away its roots. They ravaged the mango tree from its very core, despite all our efforts to fight them. And slowly the tree dried up, its leaves turning a sickly brown. 

We waited till spring, hoping against hope that something may sprout again. But when nothing showed up, finally last month, about a fortnight after we completed three years in this house, we had to let the tree go...

The backyard looks barren now, and we feel exposed and open to the prying eyes of neighbours. It has been heartbreaking losing the mango tree; it truly feels like losing a family member all over again. Such was the benign motherly presence of our beloved mango tree! 

A saga that ended much too soon...

Front Garden - Progress In Pictures

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words. Here's a glimpse of how the front garden has changed and shaped up over the past 3 years.

2019

2020

2021

I'm not complaining; the bushes and leafy greens have moved to the edge of the fence, leaving the front clear for shorter shrubs and flowers. Just the way we wanted!

Then & Now: Kitchen

 

The kitchen is perhaps the most important element in a home layout, what I would consider as the heart of the abode. So it is imperative that it not only be designed well but also be functional from a comfort cum practicality point of view.

Now

This is the one area of the house we had to redesign completely, right from scratch. It involved tearing down everything, and rebuilding to our own aesthetic and functionality. 

We consciously avoided adding a chimney as we find current models too bulky and hard to clean. Though my original colour scheme was teal, I have since made peace with this one. Also, I quite like the honeycomb backsplash.

Then

The original kitchen was a horror. Broken countertop, missing pieces of modular ware, and extremely poorly maintained.

At the risk of sounding judgemental, I shudder to think that a couple of kids (apart from sundry adults) were fed from this ill-maintained kitchen. Totally unacceptable in my mind.

Then & Now: Front Garden

Next in the 'Then & Now' series are shots from the front garden. 

Now

One of the first things that caught my eye when we came around house-hunting was the possibilities that this lovely patch of green opened up. We had a few trees to start with - papaya, curry leaf, and hibiscus. We added more right after moving in - harsingar/shiuli, togor or wax flower, champa, moringa, tecoma, and a sago palm that we rescued.

Though our gardener propped a brinjal bush at a totally inappropriate location, I'm not complaining because the plant gives good produce. But I did insist on clearing out the patio edging and planting season flowers instead. Also, the unusually dry desert-like climate makes it the right environment for lilies. Have planted quite a few; hope they flower well.

Then

Decidedly unplanned and unkempt, with just about anything growing anywhere, it certainly looked like a gardener's worst nightmare in a lot of ways. 

The lack of fencing meant the street dogs could saunter in whenever they pleased. And those clothes drying on the railings.... Eewwww!!! Still I had the courage to take a chance... and with help from the better half managed to turn the place around within an year.

Then & Now: Backyard

I love to do these 'Then & Now' posts as they give a sense of how time changes things. And now that we have completed just over a year at the new abode, I thought this was a good time to indulge in this exercise.

So here is presenting a part of the backyard, just outside our bedroom and featuring the mango tree. 

Now

We all love sitting on the stone edging to attend to our calls. I am trying to green up the background, creating more greens on the walls. But the scorching summer set back my plans a bit.

Then

The 'Then' picture was taken when we first came to see the house. Though we got a large part of the soil covered with stone slabs but I do the prefer the neater look that the place has now.