Took a few days off from the daily grind and visited my granddaughter for Deepavali. I had a nice time, went around the town with her, enjoyed her baby talk, and questions, admired whatever she did, be it watching CBeebies or reading scores of books.One thing could not do was to visit the garden related stores or nurseries. It was a family holiday.
On return, I could not wait to see the plants on the terrace. Oh how I missed them ! My helper at home too was excited to show off how she cared for the plants during my absence.
When I was away many of them were busy giving ripe fruits, fresh blooms, and new vegetables. It was a pleasant surprise to see how they have worked their cycle without a bother about me , and gave me a regrettable shock. I was thrilled to see most of them doing fine,though I missed the opening up the Rajnigandha lillies, while they were spreading that heady scent. I also checked on the papaya fruits and flowers. In all, it was a grand welcome.
Here is the sample of some of the varieties.
Lettuce, first crops.
Broccoli first time!
Beefsteak, bending all the time with the weight.
Pattu's terrace Garden 
Hi Pattu Mam… good to know you had some good time with your granddaughter.
Wow… Papaya also on terrace? Please help me understand how deep is the pot in which Papaya is growing… its my daughters’ favorite fruit…
Thanks Desi Traveler ( Prasadgaru?).
It is the ordinary plastic bins we pick up from the shops. About our waist high, costing about 200.
Thanks a lot. for the info…
I am too junior to you in every way to be called garu…
Noted 🙂
Wow! What a welcome and home-coming for you! You know, I am beginning to think that we might have met and not known – we might even have known the same people! How long have you been living where you’re living? 🙂 Just curious.
Glad you had a nice Deepavali!
Vidya! I am sure we know lots of people from this area.:-) We need to meet and talk about that. I have been living her for close to 30 years,. Started off when this was only an agricultural land with marshes.
Vidya, Though I read all your posts, I am not sure why my comments on your lovely blog do not get published. Last week I tried twice from mobile too:-(.
wowzie!!! What a bounty!! Can I come and stay at your place for a while! How utterly wonderful garden and harvest! My mom will go crazy when I show her your photos…
Bhavana! you are always welcome, along with your mother.:-)
Oh wow what a great selection. When I’m away i just grateful if when I return my plants are alive!
Hi PIP, Nice to hear from you. All thanks to my nimble footed domestic help. She loves the garden as much as I do. In fact , she will be looking for fruits all the time and climbs those parapet walls and reaches for them! I need to dedicate one post for her.
Perhaps I can borrow her while I’m away. My friends aren’t gardenrs. that’s the problem 🙂
Sure. She will be happy to visit Portugal:-). May be I should come over, more better.
All the Pictures are beautiful…Happy blogging.
Welcome here Murthyji. Thanks.
One day, I hope to grow and maintain a fraction of this terrace garden! 🙂
Destination Infinity
Sure, all the best for a better and bigger one 🙂
beautiful, I loved all of them the brinjals , cauliflowers , chillies all of them awesomeeeeeeee
Thanks Bikramjit! Felt good!
Quite a garden you have there. Nice to know that it was cared for while you were away. I’m bad with plants, so every time I come this way, I’m filled with admiration for you. 🙂
Thanks Divya. I can’t believe anyone can be bad with plants , even I could do it :-). I was in awe of the variety that was available in USA for garden lovers.
When is the post about the dishes prepared from the fresh veggies coming? Love to see that too. Love to eat it too! 🙂
Hi Devisenthil, you had me there. I too love to cook and eat! What dish you want let me know.:-)
Good to hear that you had a great time with your grand daughter and your garden did well in your absence. I am sure your plants missed you though 😀
Thanks Mridula. 🙂
that was a super welcome from ur darling plants.. hope u had great time with ur pethi.. :).. nice brinjals and cauliflower..
Thanks Ashreyamom!. Kathirkaa kari and kaliflower soup is the recipe planned.:-)
Glad you found your garden in great shape on your return 🙂 Pattu Di, I remember having stayed back home for many years when I had one…I used to send all other family members for vacations…
Hi Amitbhai, welcome here ,.
And a good tip about sending family members away for vacations.
Actually I long for such chance. Sending others ,and enjoying the house for myself. When I was in service, I used to take leave , and enjoy the solitude.:-)
hey…you caught me there di 🙂 The garden was a pretence, solitude used to be the real booty 🙂 😀
Solitude is a rare occurrence in my life, so I relish it Amitbhai. Have a nice weekend.
How lovely to have had time with your granddaughter. And then when you got home you found the garden doing well. It’s wonderful when we can just trust the seasons and cycles. Your photos are beautiful too!
Welcome here Three Well Beings! And thanks for those beautiful words.
I like your blog very much!. Needs reading a number of times, to catch the essence and put it in practice.
Lovely, I am amazed how you have managed them on terrace! I have small kitchen garden, and sowed radish ,methi, broccoli (first time), Salad leaves, chillies, spinach and corainder, I would love to share photographs with you, one they grow and yield fruit.
Thanks Meenakshi!.
Please post the photographs for us readers to enjoy and appreciate.
As it it, I am amazed that you are growing so many varieties in the kitchen garden! A real joy indeed.
That’s wonderful blossom of flowers and vegs… and glad u enjoyed the deepavali with your granddaughter 🙂
Thanks Jeevan.
Wow! That sure was a rousing welcome!!
Thanks Deepakji.
Loved it as usual.
Thanks Matheikal, for viewing them.
OMG. This is wonderful. And the cucumber plant does not seem to have leaves at all. Goes to show
the attention and care you and your nimble-fingured support have put in. Great job.
Btw, the brinjal flowers in my garden have withered away 😦 Can I have some tips from you akka?
Oh Jayanthi, sad about those flowers. It will come again. Are they being fed well with the compost and vermi compost and dry leaf stuff. Or any other feed you give once a in a while? Once the flowers start , they need good food. All the best.
Thanks for the wishes. I just water them and only now added some compost. Shall pay more attention. Thank you once again.
You have a beautiful garden @ 60. 😉 It’s wow! 🙂
Thanks Gayatri!
That is a sight for sore eyes and it must have thrilled to get such a warm welcome. Lovely crop, that 🙂
Thanks Zephyr.
Your garden is amazing !! So many veggies ! What kind of insecticide do you use ? Organic ?
-Asha
Mostly neem oil, or garlic ginger chilli solutions, or PG, or Jalaamritha.:-)
Hi – what a lovely blog! I’m glad that your garden did well in your absence, even if it did dismay you! I have a question, not being from India — what is Deepavali? From here I will say, Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for following my blog. I’ll be back!
Welcome here Melanie.( Lovely name). Thanks.
Deepavali is the festival of lights we celebrate almost all over India, celebrating the triumph of good over evil. It is the most important festival for millions. Holidays, buying sprees, good food.. all the good things.:-)
Happy thanksgiving to you.
Sounds beautiful. I hope to see it some day! Thanks
Come over , Melanie.
Wow, I am so jealous. Hubby has gone into a gardening overdrive. He has planted 6 different varieties of hibiscus. The spinach, coriander, bhindi plants are just sprouting. He diligently looks after them everyday. Will post pics when the plants are taller. We have potted all the plants that we got from Ooty. Keeping our fingers crossed that the bulbs sprout. You always inspire me with your passion for gardening. Can you share something about marigold. Every single plant I’ve had withers off :(. Is there some special way of potting or tending to them?
Thanks Rachna. Good to note that your plants are doing fine, except marigold. How come, they withered. Either no watering or too much. Pl. check the drainage holes.I am sure feeding is done properly . Are they facing too much heat( may not be, now that winter has set in). I am also posting this question in “Organic Terrace garden ” group of Bangalore ( anyone can join). And will get back to you soon.
Have a good day.
What a fresh and satisfying welcome! Bless your green fingers!
Thanks Ilakshee.
The first picture took me back to childhood. Lillys are my Mom’s fave 🙂
Oh.. Lillies are my favorites too. That heady smell is just now pervading our garden,( early night).
Lovely plantations 🙂 Your post reminded me of the garden we had at home. My grandmother was the only person at home who took immense care of the garden. I loved to accompany her in doing some gardening in the mornings 🙂 Keep up the good work of gardening and blogging 🙂 Glad I’d dropped by your space 🙂
Welcome here snow!. And thanks.
Times spent with the grand mother are precious.
I am glad too, that you dropped by.
Blogging is a marvelous way of *meeting* people. If you had not visited my blog, I would not have found yours. I love reading blogs from other countries and seeing what they grow and how.
Thanks Ronnie. Welcome to my blog. I too enjoy reading blogs from other countries.
Hi Pattu, Diwali gave you a lovely chance to bond with the little angel. Hope you enjoyed your stay.
So you got a bright welcome from your garden buddies. The images of flowers and veggies are fresh and glistening. The green papaya fruit looks taut and healthy. Great to be home.:)
Thanks Uppalji. The papaya fruit is being watched daily for signs of ripeness :-). As soon as it is ready I will click pictures. One more is coming up.
Yes, home sweet home.
What joy!
Great produce from your plants. Lovely!
Thanks Indrani. Nice of you to visit my blog!
lovely post, I am glad to hear that your garden was well looked after in your absence. I am hoping for the same when I go out of town next month :). Though my plants are not at the yielding stage yet..
Thanks Chitra. All the best for your garden.
I am speechless as usual!!
Thanks SRS…mmm..:-)
It’s such a beautiful feeling to return home to see all the plants are doing much more than just surviving…
I once lost all my plants after a trip, It was a heart breaking sight, which left me wrecked for more than a month before I could get started again coz I travel a lot… gardening and travelling are two passions which are hard to keep up together… I wish I had an help who loved plants like your help does… 🙂
Oh.. I understand that!. Hope you get someone who will love them as you do , to tend for them while you are away!.
Hi Amma hope you don’t mind me calling it,you not only look motherly in ur picture.Looks like you give ur full love and nurture to plants too.Such beautiful pictures.Was so happy to see them.I don’t know much about gardening but looking at your garden I feel like home.
Janani! I am so glad you call me Amma! Welcome here !
Thanks dear. It happens sometimes , like some Cosmic connections, some places feel like home!.Love and Ashirwadham!
These pics are tempting..mouthwatering… I can’t say how much I miss my native village.. Ah!
Oh.. Remi de Souza, native villages are always calling us back!
hi mam,
thanks for your precious vote and i am thrilled to see your enthusiasm for gardening. Hope it inspires me to add some greens in my life.
regards
asteria
Welcome here Asteria, thanks.
What a lovely thing to do in Diwali – spend some fun time with the grand ‘dotter’ 🙂 And being warmly welcomed back by the garden.
Cheers!
“went around the town with her, enjoyed her baby talk, and questions, admired whatever she did, be it watching CBeebies or reading scores of books”….
In some way or other, you were n’t away from the garden.
Thanks Nagarathinam Krishna.
I Adore Hibiscus!! such a red it is!
Thanks Personal concerns. Good to see you visiting my blog.
Happy womens day…..Very new to this…..i am just a beginner, fond of plants & gardening….very inspiring blog,need ur suggestions how to start:))
Thanks Krishna Priya. Hope you had a good Women’s Day too. I had gone to visit my grand daughter,and enjoyed with her.:-). Could not see your comment so far.
Your garden looks awesome (my grand daughter’s favourite word) I wish I had a green thumb like you and also the patience to nurture such a garden. Great work.
Everyone has green thumb! All that one needs is motivation, make a little room with soil and the sun for a plant, pick up some seeds from kitchen and sow them. Start!!! Interestingly, plants grow in various sizes, from moss to banyan tree. (Some make bonsai of banyan tree.) Plants like animals (including humans) need SPACE for each.
Very true Remiji. Apart from plants there are thousands of micro , macro stuff out there, which do lot of work, for the life cycles to go on.
Thanks Remi. I tried my hand at gardening once and finally all that I have to show for it is a few crotons , a few spider plants and a sprinkling of coleus. Banyan tree and Bonsai? That sounds great. Some try it soon. But I go out of station often to be with my sons abroad and my garden gets a step motherly treatment from the people I leave behind at home.
My work involved traveling – urban, rural, forest areas. Many a times I used to pick-up plants, seeds, or cuttings, even pebbles from the streams… bring them home like Maharaja Sayajirao of Baroda State did. I even used to carry saplings of my most favorite plant BAMBOO, from a nursery in forest area, and carry them to another village to plant… I even used to send seeds by post to my friends in distant places. Now I post my silly ideas on Internet.
If you have a piece of land, the plants usually take care of themselves, once grown up to some age. Not crotons, of course.
Sending plant seeds to friends is an act of gifting. Very nice indeed. And transporting plants to distant places… wow.. The villagers were lucky I suppose.
Hi,
Can you please give me pointers as to where you purchased the lily plants/pods in Hyderabad?
Thanks,
Jyothi
The lilly bulbs were purchased in Bangalore last August when I went to lalbaugh flower show.
Your Garden is pretty Awesome 🙂
thanks Mahalakshmi!
மனிதர்களைவிட நாம் வளர்த்தச் செடிகள்,பூத்துக்,குலுங்கி,காயாக காய்ப்பவைகள் காய்த்தும்,பழுக்க வேண்டியவைகள் பழுத்தும், வளர்ந்து செழித்திருப்பதை,சில நாட்கள் பார்க்காதிருந்து பார்த்தால்தான் பரவசம் உண்டாகும். அவை வரவேற்பதைப் போன்ற ஸந்தோஷத்தைக் கொடுப்பதை அனுபவித்தவர்கள் மிகவும் உணர முடிகிறது. பார்த்த உங்களின் படங்களை வைத்து நானும் ஸந்தோஷிக்கிறேன். அன்புடன்
மிக்க சந்தோஷமாக இருக்கிறது, உங்கள் மறுமொழி படித்ததும். நன்றி மா!