The previous few years in the garden

Things have been a bit slow in the garden the last couple of years, thanks to some very slow work on a patio extension in 2011, and incessant rain in the summer of 2012. So much so, that I had stopped dreaming of gardens, looking up endless photos on the net for gardening ideas, visiting gardens and garden centers and talking nonstop about some plant or the other at the dining table. H and V must have been thankful to be spared the details of the habits of plants they had no interest in and of course I saved a lot of money. But this year we are back in business! This is how one part of the garden looked in 2011 April. The other corner.

Gooseberry

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I had bought a (stick of) gooseberry plant in Poundland just after moving to the new house, even before we had started work on the garden. I had bought it because it was there to buy and I had been surprised that Nallikayi grew in England. The plant has been growing steadily for two and a half years now and this year finally it showed some signs of giving fruits.



Only after I put the first nallikayi in my mouth and took a bite did I realise that it was not the Nallikayi I knew at all. This has a number of small fine back seeds as against the single hard seed of Nallikayi. After some reference on the net I have concluded that this was the original gooseberry but since our Nallikayi has the same outer appearance, the English must have called it the Indian gooseberry and we have assumed that Nallikayi is Gooseberry. They infact belong to two different families.(ours is of Euphorbiaceae and this belongs to 'Grossulariaceae'. Never heard of it before) Call it what you will, but i have harvested about 800grams of it this year. I have made three bottles of jam (slurp! fantastic!) and made spicy chitra anna out of some more and I have a few more left.

Highlights of the Garden 2009

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In spring, the borders were not as colourful as I would have wished, though the late winter and spring flowering shrubs were doing well. Evidently I had not planted a lot of spring flowering bulbs and perennials. But the summer border made up for it. The fantastic Lupins! There was another purple one which stopped producing more flowers because I did not deadhead them. Thanks to the early summer, I am able to see the Hydrangea before leaving for India.



I cannot describe the pleasure in beholding this towering beauty first thing in the morning. The moment I open the patio doors the perfume wafts in and fills me with happiness. I missed this totally last year because I left for India just when they were getting ready to bloom. Again, the early summer helped me enjoy it this time. But the pot is too small for it and as the plants grow, the pot can hardly hold enough water and already this week the lower leaves are drying. Next year I will plant a tower in the ground.

Full defence

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I planted a blueberry plant last autumn. Blueberries are very good for health and fresh ones are quite expensive. The plant itself cost just about 8pounds. I was told that it was a low maintenance plant, so what could be a better choice? As I read more about the plant I discovered that a companion plant about a meter away will help both plants yield a lot more. So this spring, I brought home another plant. It already had a few flowers on it. The first plant also had plenty. I started planning rather prematurely how if there was so much yield I would freeze some for future use. And last week I find that the pigeons have eaten the fruits from the new plant. So today I have brought home my defence : a net, and a support. I hope to protect the remaining fruits on the other plant. Ever since I stopped feeding the other birds, pigeons are also rare but I truly miss all the other lively little birds. Today I also bought bird food which only little bird can access!

Bird feed

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I complained about pigeons destroying my tender plants. I only recently realised that I was inviting the pigeons to my garden myself. I hang a bird feeder to one of my trees and place seed mix in it to invite small birds to my garden. They do come and I am delighted to see them perched on the edge of the feeder and pecking away happily. The pigeons cannot feed from there directly because the feeder swings and the pigeons are too heavy. But unfortunately the little birds spill a lot of the seeds and the pigeons walk around eating what has fallen on the ground. During their 'amble' they spot my little tender seedling and decide to peck them too. Last week I could not refill the feeder for a few days and the garden was very quiet. There were no birds and so no pigeons either.(yeah, I do know that pigeons are birds). Now what do I do?
I have to find a feeder that wont allow seeds to fall on the ground.

Fractured stem

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Can you fix a fracture in a plant? I recently bought this wonderful plant Garrya Issaquahensis to grow against my new shed. - a case of the shed to hide the compost bins, a plant to hide the shed. I had left it in the pot for a few days and it had fallen over and the growing tip seemed broken. There is no tear or cut outside, it has not snapped, but it looks like there is a fracture inside. So I have fixed a splint and am hoping that it will heal.
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Pigeons!

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The slug was called "public enemy number 1" by some gardening magazine recently. My greatest enemy in the garden is not the slug but the pigeon. I have had some problems with slugs but I have learned to handle them. But the pigeon! It breaks in two my Aubergine plants, pokes holes in my perpetual spinach, and eats all the young leaves and buds from the Viburnum Tinus. I had put up a scare crow in the midst of the Aubergines and it seemed to be working but today I saw that the healthiest looking one had been broken in two.
What do I do? I seem to remember that a tightly tied string's vibration in the wind will repel a pigeon. I should tie them all around the garden.