Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Gardening couple and their green yard!

Mr. and Mrs. M are a typical, cute old couple. They have a charming old house in the camp area, back at Allahabad (my hometown) with a small patch of garden. Their children grew up and flew out of their nest to build their own in bigger cities. Though alone, both are rattling busy souls. A couple so passionate about gardening, there is hardly anything that would keep them away from it. Uncle is a gregarious old Sardar, while Aunty is always chipper. I actually don't think I've ever seen her not smiling. Infected, you just can't stop smiling back. Within minutes of arrival, Aunty dishes out sherbet or chai (tea) with home-made cookies and roasted snacks.
Coming back to gardening, Uncle steals the show since he's the flaunty talker while Aunty is the helpful assistant behind the scene. Though in practice, I think Aunty is more orderly between the two. Their lawn is currently under restoration, and all other plants are in containers. They have put a part of their terrace to use for rose beds and vegetable gardening. Every day, they deadhead and water plants, sweep and re-organize pots to de-clutter their green space.

Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious. When I am home, I make it a point to wheedle out some time to meet them, discover new plants and borrow some for my city balcony. Here's a look at their desert rose (adenium) collection - they have quite a number, but it's just a few that I photographed.



23 comments:

  1. Nice photo of the red flower - what a bright one! There's some cute decoration around one of the pots...

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  2. The first desert rose is so pretty. I love the vivid red colour and big bloom. What a collection! And from the appearance of the pot and size of the plant, they must had planted these adeniums for a number of years. You must have enjoyed yourself there and snapping these photos. And, tq for your comments!

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  3. @Evelyn: Thanks. That decoration is just an arrangement of tiny terracotta holders for seedlings.

    @Stephanie: Yes, they are pretty old. A couple of years, at least. Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. What a joy it must be to visit with them! Thank you for sharing their story and such lovely photos!

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  5. A beautiful told story of people you so obviously care deeply for. Their collection and the background shows a neat and tidy attention to detal space. Lucky them and you. :-)
    Frances

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  6. They sound like a very sweet couple. I bet it is fun to visit with them. I love their containers. Those are really neat looking!

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  7. What a beautiful rose, I've never seen anything like it. Your story is very charming, they sound like wonderful people. :)

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  8. Hi Urban Green, there´s always a pleasure coming back to your blog... thanks for encouraging me to post more.
    Muchos cariños
    María Cecilia

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  9. This adenium looks neat and well kept, in fact like a bonsai. Mr & Mrs M sounds like a couple that I'd like to meet too.

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  10. More, show us more UG. That was a sweet post about your old friends. How about a photo of them in their garden?:-)

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  11. What a sweet couple! And they have an enviable collection of adeniums. How creative to use those tiny holders as decoration. That pink in the first photo is gorgeous!

    So you're from Allahabad...I'd wondered about your hometown. It's nice to know:)

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  12. they sound so sweet and have such a nice garden!

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  13. What a pretty collection of Desert Roses they have. You can tell they both love their garden.

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  14. I enjoyed reading about these gardeners. The desert roses are very different from plants I have. They are cool!

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  15. Those are so beautiful. They look like big trees. Nice to hear about them. they sound wonderful.

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  16. @Mildred: Yes, you are right. It's a joy meeting passionate gardeners. There is always so much to know.

    @Frances: Thanks for stopping by. They are a lovely couple, I admire them a lot.

    @Susie: Yes, they have a whole lot of containers. I've not been able to photograph all. Thanks for your comment, see you around.

    @Rebecca: That's a desert rose (adenium). They have quite a few colors. Not all were blooming when I visited them last.

    @Maria:: Thanks for stopping by. I love your posts, you know that!

    @Autumn: Mr & Mrs. M are a couple anyone would love to meet. Very warm and friendly. The moment they get started about plants, they wouldn't stop unless you tell them you are getting late and you'll have to leave :)

    @Helen: Silly me! I totally forgot to photograph them, I was completely busy with their plants.

    @Kanak: Thanks, those tiny holders are for seedlings. When not in use, that's what they do to it. :)

    Tootsie: Thanks for stopping by. See you around.

    Catherine: Love of garden shows in the way the plants do. Even in midst of scorching summers, most of their plants look vibrant and healthy.

    Sue: Pretty cool! :)

    Teresa: They are not big trees. They are evergreen succulent plants. Over time, they get those twisted gnarled stems.

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  17. I've never seen a Euphorbia trimmed like that, amazing. What a lovely couple and I would want to visit too.

    Ok gonna try and leave a comment again.

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  18. These are beautiful! I love Adeniums. You reminded me I have to post a picture of my simple pink bloom that I was blessed to have this year.

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  19. what a neat thing to have a collection of! I may need a collection of them as well!!! :)

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  20. Thank you for being such a regular visitor to my blog : ) You are very sweet !
    This was such a nice post to read .. I hope to putter in my garden for a very long time too .. it gives you so much in return for a little TLC!
    I also think it keeps us positive .. you can't help but feel that way when you are in your little piece of Eden ? ;-)
    Joy

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  21. Really nice! They sound like the neighbors I'd like to have! It's always uplifting to be around people who are positive in their outlook. How interesting and pretty those desert rose plants are!

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  22. Hello,

    Your Adeniums are very beautiful. We are able to grow them here as well.

    I enjoyed reading your blog this morning.

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  23. Really nice.adeniums look well kept and fertilised

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Thanks for stopping by.