GBBD DECEMBER 2008

For good or bad, frost has not yet announced its presence here. I do not know if it is my perception or there is an actual change in weather patterns, but I do feel the winters shortening in both duration and severity with each passing year. I hope it is nothing sinister related to pollution, global warming…and all that. Well, setting these thoughts aside for now I’ll indulge in the bloom boom which stands spared for the GBBD post this Dec-08, thanks to the delayed frost: Chrysanthemums Salvias with Chrysanthemums in backdrop Bouganvilleas Poinsettia gearing up for Christmas Bouvardia- it attracts lots of butterflies. Gladioli blooming in profusion Impatiens Poinsettia 'fireball' Marigolds Thunbergia Grandiflora The diversity in the flower world is amazing, each one more beautiful than the other. Yet, a rose will always smell and seem the sweetest…

Worsening Winter

Ideally going by the kind of weather in early January I would have thought that I have seen the last and also the worst of winters. But owing to some unfathomable reasons winters made a comeback and that too with a vengeance. 0 degree C was a temperature unheard of in my part of the country, so when the mercury plummeted to -1degrees yesterday, everyone was caught unawares by the chilling surprise- including the plants.Skies have been reasonably clear with ample sunshine but it is the cool winds which have been the culprit responsible for the sudden dip in temperature. Roses have stood their ground defiantly against these odds. Ornamental Kale or Brassica Oleracea is throwing its beautiful curly leaves around. I recently found that the leaves are edible and the plant is known for its sturdiness in facing extreme colds; I’ll make use of the newly acquired knowledge and try it in salad. Things are not as Hunky-dory elsewhere: Both Plumeria and The Buddha Belly Plant have shed their leaves and stand denuded waiting for warmer times; yet there is an abstract beauty in these dendrites which captures the sight to present the picture of a winter garden. This succulent which was a pleasant green in monsoon season, decided to change to a dull red to protest against the numbing cold. Well plants have their own inbuilt mechanisms of adaptation, but that is not so about one other important being of my life, and for her, I have to actively intervene to swathe her in winter clothing. With Bruno, I don’t have to be very fussy as he comes naturally with a majestic chocolate-brown fur coat; the warmth of his coat takes the chill away when in his affectionate moods he decides to take a short nap lying on my feet.