Garden Affair : Before the spring ends

 The unusual weather system this year has lead to extended spring season. The summer has started off lately after the delay caused by the  first half of April which saw unusual rain activities, the only silver lining was spring blooms showed their presence in the Garden even till the half past of April.

                                                         

Gazanias and petunias in full blooming   in my Spring summer transition of Garden 

                                                                           

Adenium brings the splash of summer 

                                     Before the spring ends let me behold the beauty of these Ice plants 

                            

It is the time for link up party Garden affair where we can share posts related to Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week .

                                                                      

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Garden Affair : Chrysanthemum season

 Its December which is perfectly  suitable season for chrysanthemum blooming environment in my region . 

Mums are in full bloom by the mid of December , as they bloom in profusion they  are best to put up a show in the Garden in the  early  winter .

                                                                                           

Spider mums are always the show stealer                                                                                    

                                                                 

                                                             

                                                                                       

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week . 

                                                    

                                                         

 

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Garden Affair : Rose season is back

 Roses blooms  disappear in my garden for the major part of the year after spring . They rejuvenate in the Autumn season.  The blooms appear mostly in profusion till the end of winter and early spring. 

       

                                                                 

As a child I was very fond of Roses and these rose buds would always raise my curiosity to know the color and shapes coming up for roses.                                                                                                            

                                                                                

Growing Roses in pots  and how to take care                                                                                           

The urbanization has lead to limited space available for Gardening, Now roses are developed in an environment which is also popularly known as micro propagation to produce large number of disease free rose plants.   The culture of potted rose plants  is on a rise in urban environment.

 

How to grow roses in pots and how to take care of potted roses                                                 

                                             

Growing Roses in a pot is easy when we choose correct pot , soil composition and environment . 

Roses blooms can be obtained  easily in a large pot with proper drainage holes. Roses grow well in fertilizer rich soil . There blooms love full day sun and can be rewarding when fertilized on regular intervals.                                                                                                                           

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week starting from Friday. 

                                                                          

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Garden Affair : Is Urban Gardening the Future

 The rapid growth in residential  subdivision and industrialization  had lead to curb in the green belt . The time has gone when we use to  had huge  front gardens in houses which are now replaced  with parking spaces. 

Urban Gardening is a concept when plants either ornamental or consumable harvest likes vegetables and fruits are  grown in an urban environment. It is generally a green space created in the balconies which can be utilized to grow your own veggies, fruits and even for  growing houseplants to bring greenery in your home. 

                                                                      

The urban gardening saw its surge in the  times of covid 19 when nationwide lockdown was imposed subsequently Gardening provided a sense of joy and brought optimist mindset at the time due to  the uncertainty of  future. Lockdown leads to limit and uncertainty  in the  access to food  in the urban environment. This invokes the concept of growing your own veggies and fruits in the urban environment.  

            Basic methods for Urban Gardening                                                                                                                                                            

Container Gardening

The solution for growing plants in small spaces is growing in pots and planters  available in versatile sizes and materials which can be chosen according to your space ,success of  gardening done in container depends upon container size, composition of soil mixture in container and placement of pots in sunlight.

                                                                                

Vertical Gardening

Vertical Gardening is good for those places where there is limited open space thereby wall is used for growing plants pots are arranged vertically in symmetrical position . Vertical Gardening is effective for  growing plants of shallow roots like green leafy vegetables and leafs used in salads. 

                                                                                   

Setting up a rooftop Garden 

Rooftop Gardening is ideal for the people who have large rooftop place in their home, Rooftop farming is increasing culture these days that provides organic , fresh harvest everyday . In a survey recently it was found out that urban rooftop farming can actually combat the problem of rising organic demand in longer run. 

                                                                              

People should get   more awareness about the benefits of urban farming. A small step taken towards urban gardening can actually contribute in maintaining ecological balance in environment. 

It is the time for link up party Garden affair where we can share posts related to Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week starting from Friday. 

                                                                                         

                                                                              

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Garden Affair : Happy Diwali

 Its the time to celebrate the festival of lights Diwali , Diwali is a  Hindu Festival which has primary  significance in the virtue to celebrate victory of Good over Evil. Diwali is celebrated on the new moon day  of the month thereby earthen lamps(also known as Diyas) are lightened outside and inside of the home and every corner of the house is lighten up with Diyas to eradicate darkness and bring positivity . 

May this Diwali lighten up everyone's life with positivity and good health .  Happy Diwali to everyone .

                                                                             

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related to Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open from Friday  for a week.                                                                                        

 

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Garden Affair : Big Butterfly month

The weather after monsoon is cooler in comparison to Summer  with  pleasant sunny days which is considered favorable  for the emergence of bugs and bees  family . Butterflies are more prevalent  after  the post monsoon Indian climate.  While the ideal monsoon season in India covers July to Mid September. It is the September season that leads to growth in Fresh vegetation and emergence of annual and perennial nectar rich blooms that attracts Bugs and Butterflies. 

                                                                             

Big Butterfly Month in India is celebrated in September month which has primary focus on spreading awareness about the presence of Butterflies and thereby encourage the observing , recording and reporting of Butterfly  sightings  which help monitor Biodiversity and overall assess the environmental health.                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                  

Why it is important to conserve Butterflies and How to participate in Big Butterfly month  ?  

Butterflies protection and conservation came into light when it was scientifically proved that           Butterflies play vital role in maintaining ecological Balance . They play active role in assessing           environment health and climate change .Thereby Big Butterfly month plays significant role in         collecting data of Population of Butterflies.                                                                                                  

                                                                            

                                                                                                                           

How to participate in Big Butterfly Month                                                                                                     

   - Participants can count the population of Butterflies using apps and submit their collected Data on available platforms and apps. Some of the relevant apps working on conservation of Butterflies are  INaturalist, Official BBM App                                                                                                                                                          

-Participants can attend    workshops and seminars to get awareness about Butterfly month organized by clubs , NGOS working  for environmental protection .  There are even Butterfly walks organized in parks and places to sight butterflies to  record their count  and observe their species.                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                      

- Organizing get together and events by Nature enthusiasts to encourage awareness about protection and conservation of Butterflies.                                                                                                                

Plants like Bougainvilleas, Indian milkweed , Plumbago , Lantanas, zinnias and many other nectar rich flowering  plants should be planted more to attract Butterflies in Gardens, parks .                            

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds . The link up party will be open for a week starting from Friday. 

                                                                           

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Garden Affair : This self seed flower tastes like Cranberry

 I have been always astounded about how Nature surprise us in the most pleasant manner. Monsoon is on a state of taking bid adieu for this year  and now in no time Autumn season will arrive in my Garden . 

Autumn season is one such season when Garden sees maximum blooming just after the spring season .The summer annuals are at their peak blooming  and just like spring even self seed plants which emerge post monsoon blooms at the mid of Autumn and continue blooming till the end of  season.

Cranberry Hibiscus or Red leafed Hibiscus which self seeds itself every year  as an annual in my Garden during Autumn  is a beautiful shrub with large red to maroon colored Hibiscus shaped  flowers with elliptical maple shaped leaves . The leaves and flowers both are edible and  even taste like Cranberry fruit. 

                                                                                    

                                                                  

Method of Growing and care 

While Cranberry Hibiscus is a hardy perennial like every other Hibiscus plant it grows well in a Full sunny area  and blooms profusely when fertilized before flowering period. The Cranberry tastes mostly comes from the leaves of plant. The juice extracted from leaves of plants has the taste of Cranberry Juice. 

                                                                 

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week starting from Friday.                                        

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Garden Affair : This plant in my Garden is immortal

           It was about two years  ago when I was cleaning up garden area after disarray created by downpour post  monsoon season . During this process of cleaning time in my Garden  I discovered  out this stem  lying on  porch area of Garden. I ignored it on the first thought that it could be some kind of  weed and kept it on a Garden Table and forgot completely about it only to rediscover it  almost a month later at same place, I was amazed it was growing and even leaves were budding and this is how I discovered The immortal plant   of Tinospora Cordifolia . The uprooted plant stems can survive months . 

                                         This below  is the stem I found out in my Garden               

I planted that stem and it grew over  into a beautiful voluptuous vine in a course of two years 

                                                                      

I have covered in detail about growing , propagation and care about Tinospora plant in my earlier blog , u can check here How to grow Tinospora cordifolia                                                                                  

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open from Friday for a week .                                   

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Garden Affair : Plants that attract sunbirds in my Garden

 Sunbirds are one of the most fascinating  looking birds adored for their striking color and their small size around the world. Sunbirds are small in size but their vibrant display, their ability to adapt different habitats even in urban environment makes them one of the most frequently observed  birds everywhere around the world irrespective of climate. They are often spotted feeding  nectar on flowers that makes them fascinating to watch among bird lovers among other birds feeding upon nectar. 

First time I saw Sunbird in my Garden was when it was feeding upon pomegranate flower. I was awestruck with its beauty. 

They are commonly seen in my Garden especially after monsoon season and spring . While they are attracted to plethora of flowers their visit in my Garden is mainly on these blossoms around the year .  

           Cypress vine is annual which attracts pollinators and nectar feeding birds mostly .I had heard about hummingbirds and sunbirds picking upon cypress vine blooms for nectar.                                                             

         Lantana is one more shrub that attracts butterflies and sunbirds especially during Autumn season.                  

I have seen Purple sunbirds from my childhood   especially purple sunbirds feeding upon pomegranate flowers. They are mostly observed post monsoon season when flowering on pomegranate is   prominent.                                                                                                                                                   

Hibiscus plant is a fascinating plant to grow in garden to attract sunbirds. I had observed sunbirds picking upon Hibiscus blooms for the nectar at frequent time periods in a year. 

                                                                                   

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week .                                                                              

                                                             

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Garden Affair : This vegetable peel helped me got rid of leaf eater moth

 Its Monsoon season , the favorable weather for the parturition and breeding of  bugs . Where the monsoon season proves boon for the garden to bring back greenery, it surely proves to be a favorable weather for the outbreak of bugs and little critters. 

While I was on my cleaning spree in my Garden after rains , I was took aback when my spider lilies and Rain lilies plants went vanished  from pots . Monsoon is  adjacent with flourishing rain lilies it was disheartening to see them disappear completely in their prime blooming season when the  leaves were  chewed by the moths. 

                                                  Leaf eater moth feeding upon Rain lilies 

However these moths don't reach till  the bulbs but controlling their resurgence  is necessary for the garden . The little creatures have capacity to vanish leaves from the plants in a single feed only. 

                                                                      

I had made up my mind recently to use organic fertilizers and pesticides in my Garden after realizing  the damaging impacts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in Garden. 

Garlic peels had proved as an effective insecticide and pesticide especially controlling the larva and moth growth on plants.                                                                              

How to prepare Garlic Spray as an effective pesticide for Garden :

Garlic spray is one of the best effective organic pesticide that helps in controlling the growth of moths and bugs on leaves  . The simple procedure to make a spray from Garlic peels or whole Garlic cloves is to soak them in water over night and then directly using the strained water to spray on the leaves of plants the next day . We can add a drop of  organic liquid detergent with Garlic water spray  to  help to last upon the leaves. 

                                                                                         

 

It is the time for link up party Garden Affair where we can share posts related with Gardening, Nature and birds. The link up party will be open for a week . 

                                                                       

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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