Saving seeds to have the same colors in the next season

To collect Petunia and Phlox seeds, I let a few of the blossoms die back naturally and did not deadhead them. When the flower dries and falls off, the calyx swells (this is the seedpod), turns brown and dry and splits open. The pod contains numerous tiny little dark seeds. Put these seeds in an airtight container or paper bag for storage.

Phlox is my spring delight

I wrote about growing phlox last year. See Phlox tips for more. This year, I had some blooms from the seeds I saved last year. I took some pictures from the garden my in-laws have. The last picture (seedlings) was taken about three weeks after I sowed the seeds.

Calendula

My husband photographed this, and I think it is a brilliant one. What do you say?

Re-telling...thoughts.

It's hard to watch parents growing old. Trying to cope with the change is tougher. My parents are having trouble doing the things they used to handle effortlessly. They face memory glitches, repeat themselves, are tired easily and often sick. I am guilty of feeling impatient, and at times angry at them and finish feeling dim about it.

When they call while I am at work and repeat themselves, I promptly cut it off by saying "Yeah, you've told me that before", or promise to call back once I'm home. As we age we no longer wish to share our ordeals with parents sparing them the stress that we'd rather deal with on our own. There is a lack of things to talk about, and therefore a repeat conversation is likely to be some sort of a connection or interaction for them. I read that the point of talking to people isn't to receive information in the form of words; it's the pleasure of the interaction and expression of sharing and trusting.

So, I tell myself that listening over and over again, or simply receiving the interaction, is not really so hard to do. But I feel sorry for the way I act sometimes with my parents.

Sorry Ma. Sorry Dad. I hope you will understand.

PS: Pansies mean 'thoughts', so these ones in my garden just for my parents.

Gloom to cheer!

Last couple of months were a bit of a roller coaster. I felt glad that I could still maintain my container garden despite the chaos. I was juggling relationships, health matters in the family that left me depleted to spend time on blogging. I don't think it was insufficient time, I think it's more about my mind and what goes on in it. I have never been good at compartmentalizing my life, and my head. Therefore, a problem in my personal life pretty much affects all facets of who I am. On a bad day I would typically end up staring at the screen wondering what to post. That's when the inertia set in, and I never managed to get over it for a while.

My husband usually says that when something goes wrong in life, it's an easy downward spiral from thereon. And during these times does one really gets to figure out the person one is. While one would like to hold out but personal questions are unsettling unless the mind develops enough skill to field them gracefully. It took me good 3-4 months to find answers or make peace with myself, and with people and situations around me.

I feel better, brighter and life is beautiful again. By the way, my pansies and petunias did their bit to dispel gloom and bring cheer. Thank you colorful buddies.

Homecoming...!

It feels like a homecoming. Echoing a saying here: "Homecoming means coming home to what is in your heart. "

I have a lot to tell. While I organise my thoughts and make more sense, I'll leave you with some spring shots from my balcony garden.

I hope to be more active here though I have a whole lot to check out on all my favorite blogs. And a big thank you to each one of you who stopped by my blog and sent me messages.

A few from my foliage collection!

These are my eternal garden companions. They never fail me, nor are they fair weather type. Hardy and resistant, they make pretty combinations when arranged with flowers and other plants.

Root-over-rock bonsai in making

These are night shots (not great though!) with the peepal (ficus) tree lit up by the earthen lamps around it. I'll try get one of those blog befitting pictures one of these days.

There are no short-cuts to a root over rock bonsai. It takes many years.
Typically, bare roots of an year old tree is draped over a large piece of rock. A fissure in the rock helps to settle the roots a little more easily. This arrangement is held securely with a plastic sheet with space to slip in some soil, and to be kept moist with an occasional water spray. While the tree with the bottom roots is put back into the container, half of the rock with the plastic sheet should be visible. The next one and a half or two years, the tree is allowed to grow freely for the root system and the trunk to thicken over time. In the rainy season, the tree is lifted out. Soil is washed away from the rootball. The tree with plastic covered rock is planted into a bonsai pot.Carefully, the plastic sheet is cut off and the roots are seen firmly matted around the rock. Excess shoot growth is pruned, and over the years with pruning and re-potting, the leaf size of the bonsai plant reduces.

Up the hill - Photo-tag

Joyful from Snap that prompted me to play the photo-tag game. Your first photo folder -> Tenth photo -> Share the story!

Some random arrangement led me to the one you see here, the rose.

This one, and the series of photographs that follow were shot at Shimla. Shimla is a hilly town in Northern India, popularly known as Queen of Hills and is draped in forests of pine, rhododendron and oak. It was a weekend trip to Shimla with my best friend about five months back to meet another friend we had not been in touch for nearly 12 years. For the three of us, it was a homecoming of sorts. It's amazing how childhood friends never feel toodistant or cut off from each other's lives no matter where they are. As soon as we met, we took off from where we had left. While we stayed up the night to babble relentlessly and catching up from where we left, her husband kept the house up and running. They took an off from work to be with us and show us around the town We binged on some amazing Tibetan food, travelled around and had a terrific time.

"We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere." -Tim McGraw

How true!

Do you know this pink-white flower - name?

Another place near Shimla

View of places around Shimla

Wayside flowers