Let’s Go Green….

A Blog after Eons….

Just trying to figure out how to post a Blog all over again. Used Desktops n Laptops back than & now we can post using our Mobiles. Whoa! Technology sure is evolving n changing by leaps and bounds… We lesser mortals have to keep learning, and reinventing, embracing this CHANGE with time!

So, for starters, merely trying to post some ‘Happy-Go-Green’ Pictures from our Garden. 

🌿Verdant Greens…..

                                   🌿 Lush Greens…

🪴 If speaking  kindly to plants helps them grow imagine what speaking kindly to humans can do.🪴

🌿Soothing, refreshing, rejuvenating, energising GREENS….

🌿 The summer scorched plants appear so much more  GREENER celebrating, radiating and spreading their Happiness with the onset of Rains! 

Whoa! Adapting to a new Blogger Format all over again. 

Well… Let’s just say, Enjoyed the experience! 🪴 

Keep Enjoying the surrounding Greens 🌿 & the Rains…,

Dance with the Daffodils....

~~*****~~
In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

~~ *****~~

William Wordsworth

Spring is in the air, with the blooms everywhere.....

Early Buds...

Just Beginning to Blossom...

& Finally,  A cluster of Dazzling Daffodils,
Symbolizing onset of Spring  for Today's Flower

Happy Sunday n Happy Spring Season ahead....

Floral Carpet

Pretty in Pink  @ Rain Lilies...

With so many of them blooming together in the garden, during the rainy season, they form a beautiful pink floral carpet
(A carpet, one would never wanna walk on.....)

Truly Magical these Magic Lilies!

Zephyranthes

Pink Zephyr Lilies for Todays Flower # 153 

Happy Sunday! n Hope you have a Magical Week ahead....

Cheery Cherry

The Buds, the flowers n the Fruits @ Mosaic Monday

It is one of the most commonly used flowering n fruiting tree, grown by beginners and novices, introducing them to the world of miniature greens (Bonsai), along with the (naarangi)/Oranges, (Amrood)/Chinese Guava, (Anar)/Pomegranates, (Chikoo)/Sapodilla and (Imli)/Tamarind. It is a fairly hardy plant with fine ramification, easy to look after and thrives well in sunlight. The branches are stiff and hence difficult to wire n bend.  

My World  @ The Cherry Tree - Informal Upright style 

Teeny Tiny Buds formed at the pinnacle

 Pink Flowers .....with five fringed petals

 Flowers giving way to teeny tiny Cherries

one of them finally turning Ripe Red over a matter of days. The Fruits are a rich source of Vitamin C

This Cherry Tree has been under training since July 2006

Throughout the growing season, the plant grows profusely and has to be pruned back in shape. The tree with its glossy green leaves, contrasting pink flowers n bright Red fruits add a beautiful accent to the garden. 


For more wonderful collages n Mosaic work visit here n see more of the World here.

Today's Flower: Sunflower

Whoa! This one is really huge, had to support it with my hand.

Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals.  

Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; 

others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.  

~Henry Ward Beecher, Star Papers: A Discourse of Flowers

A night shot with some creative effects


Entry for Todays Flower # 149 n Mellow Yellow Monday


Have a Super-Duper weekend!

Mango - 'Make-a-Wish' Tree

Summer in India heralds the season of the Delicious n Juicy Fruits like Aam / Mangoes, along with the Litchi / Lychee, Tarboj / Watermelons n Kharbooja / Mashmelons.

Soak the Mangoes in water to reduce n wash off  Pitta (heat)

While I like them all, my personal fav among them, is most definitely the delightful Mango, referred to as the ‘King of Fruits’ n also ‘the Nectar of the Gods’. You can savour the ripe mangoes fresh from the trees or make pickles or chutneys or moraba (jam) from the unripe ones or quench your thirst with chilled summer drinks like Aam panna or refreshing Mango Shake or even Punjabi Mango laasi or merely devour them as katha-meetha aam papad or sweet mango kheer for desert.

While I have been praising this stately fruit, let me not forget the MANGO TREE, which happens to be one of the most majestic trees here in India - what with their tall n thick trunk, dense foliage, with wide spreading branches forming  a Magnificent Umbrella Canopy.

Four Mango-laden  Trees growing in our side yard, form a near perfect Umbrella Canopy together.....

What I really like about these trees is that they form one large single unit together, while, up close they are four different trees. We need to learn something from them.... they don't jostle for space, they each seem happy and contend growing  harmoniously together.

Helpers collecting n picking mangoes, hand plucked by the gardener high up on the branches.
Can you spot the gardener precariously perched between the dark n dense foliage above (right) ????

Basket n Baskets full of Dusheri Mangoes is ready to be savoured.

 We have some 8-10 mango trees growing in our yard here in the city n another sprawling 45 acres of Mango grove in Nawabgunj countryside, about 150 Kms from here, specializing in the Rose tinted Gulab khas, Green Dusheri, Yellow Zardalu, Langra, Chausa, Safeeda varieties of mangoes n other lesser known varieties - Makhan, Fakira, maste-anar, katha-meetha, dil-pasand, kishen-bhog, shakul.

Our Mango grove @ Nawabgunj countryside - old trees interspersed with some recent plantations.

Some More Mango Trees...

The mango grove initially belonged to the last ruling Nawab of Oudh, Nawab Nawajid Ali n his family and was established way back in 1906. It is believed that about 1000 saplings of the rose flavoured ‘Gulab khas’ variety, came all the way from Afghanistan. These trees are a little over 100 yrs old.

The Rose Flavoured Mangoes  i.e. 'Gulab Khas' originally from Afghanistan
Its a highly delicate variety, as the mangoes tend to spoil even if pressed gently n have to be handled with utmost care.

After independence, Rani Rehula Shakuntala, is known to have bought 215 bigha’s of Mango grove from the Nawab. After the Indo-Pak partition, the Rani permanently shifted base to Pakistan, selling this property to my grandfather, in 1960’s. As a little kid, I used to be fascinated with this bit of history n other tell-tales associated with Nawabgunj. In retrospect, I have come to appreciate the bounty and marvel of Nature,  trees, flowers, fruits, plants, art of bonsai, the whole gamut of beautiful  greens around us.

Here’s another interesting tale about Mango Tree’s from ‘The Book of Nature’ by Ruskin Bond.

Mango Blossoms...

In the Folklore of India, the Mango is considered to be a ‘wish fulfilling tree’ or  'Make-a-Wish' Tree.

So, when you want to make a wish on a mango tree, shut your eyes and get someone to lead you to the tree; then rub mango blossoms in your hands and make a wish. 

The favour granted lasts only for a year and the charm must be performed again at the next flowering of the tree. 

So,

Go ahead....... n  Make a Wish! For all you know, it might just get granted.

Blossom giving way to Bunch of Mangoes...high up on the Tree.

Finally.... the Fruits of Labour... Dusheri Mangoes  (Desapped, Soaked, Washed n Dried)
Unripe ones well suited for making pickles n aam panna (green mango drink)

Too bad, I just read about the folklore only recently, and so could not 'make-a-wish' this flowering season but, yeah, I intend to give it a try, during the next mango flowering season, come Spring. I have already started working on my rather long 'WISH LIST' and hoping that the Mango Tree would grant them all. Amen.


My entry for Outdoor Wednesday # 128

First Thing First...

First Impressions are said to be lasting Impressions....

As human beings, we readily recall things that we see or learn first, in any given period, far better than those we see or learn later on....We probably think of the first born, or the first school, the first job, the first meeting or the first trip together.... much more fondly n favorably than others; for their added warmth, curiosity, excitement, n off course new found novelty.

Likewise, for a gardener, the seasons First Blooms in the Garden are always wee-bit X-tra SPECIAL!

We have had a few Lily bulbs growing in this particular pot for a while now, but its for the very First Time, a bulb has ever blossomed.......that too in the middle of  Summers. Unlike Easter lilies or Day Lilies, going by the enormous size of the Bud n its lustrous texture, they  probably are some exotic variety, Beautiful  n Glossy Trumpet Lilies or probably Oriental Lilies???

To the Chinese, Lily means 'Forever in Love' 

 Feng Shui believers hold the lily as an emblem of summer and abundance.....

To me, well... The Star-like Lily reminds me of  the Nursery Rhyme.....Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...

How I Wonder, what you are.....

Up above the World so High.....

Like a Diamond in the Sky.....

My entry for Today's Flower # 147 n Macro Saturday

Have a great Weekend n Shine on.... Like a Star Diamond in the Sky!

Yipppppeeeee! Its Raining....

Today morning I woke up to this really awesome weather after the rain and the dust storm, last night.  The storm did leave its trail of leaves n branches strewn all over the yard, a basket full of Mangoes which must have fallen down during the storm, a displaced bamboo fencing,10 -12 broken pots wherein their plants had to be re-potted first thing in the morning n more....

YET, in-spite of all this damage, I am not complaining and merely enjoying the aftermath of the first rains of the season.... the wet grass, the distinctive scent of the soil after the rains, the pearly droplets on flowers, overcast skies n the refreshing site of the rain washed greens all around....

The Garden... after the Rain this morning

 Bougainvillea in all its glory. Wonder how these delicate paper-y flowers are still up there even after the storm????

Fountain Palm.... braving the changing seasons, 24 * 7... 365 days a year!

Bravo! This MANGO seems to have stuck it out....

........while most others, were 'Gone with the Wind'  

Crepe Myrtle.....in Pretty Pinks!

PINK..... Seems to be the colour of the season in our garden this summer

More Pinks @ Portulaca's, waiting in the wings to bloom n for the sun to come-up again.....

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; 
there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather"
~John Ruskin

Hope you enjoy the 'good weather' times ahead.....

Oh Lily!

You, serve as a beautiful reminder,

that Easter is a time for much rejoicing and celebrating.....

You are also the white-robed apostle of hope.... 

Ever wondered how the whole year around, they lie low, almost inconspicuous, but come Easter (March-April) one can find them springing back to life, when a shaft of Green shoots upwards towards the sky bearing tiny buds, which blossom into trumpet shaped flowers in varied colours of  Pure White, Ravishing Red, Mellow Yellow,  Delightful Orange n more….

Springing Back to Life after a long long wait.....

Easter Lillies @ Symbolic of  Joy, Purity, Virtue, Hope n Yearning for Life....

Lilium longiflorum....in all its Pristine Glory!

Amaryllis Lily......Hippeastrum

"Hippeastrum" is Latin for "horseman's star",  also known as "knight's star" as buds on the verge of opening  look something like a horse's ear, while the blossoms resemble six-pointed stars....

Orange Day Lilies

Daylilies are clump forming perennials with Flowers that are large, ornamental, and orange in color while the Leaves are Long, Grass-like, and green in colour. . A leafless stalk, called a scape, extends above the leaves, bearing the flowers. In most varieties the flowers open one at a time, and last only one day, hence the name…. Day Lilies!

Cheer-y Yellow Daylillies.... n  Buzo, our adorable, 8 yr old Lab......sun bathing in the garden.

Some flowers have uniform colors or patterns on all six petals 

while others have more pronounced colors on the upper petals than on the lower ones.... 

as can be seen in this flower.


PS:
I had meant to do this post on Lily around Easter, but nonetheless
Hope this Easter was Joyous for you and your near dear ones!

My entry for : The Haute, The Loud, The Proud # 14 n Flowers on Saturday n
Camera Critters, Todays Flowers # 141 , Mosaic Monday , Outdoor Wednesday
Click on the link above to visit other participants....