July-August Show

You will see plenty of pictures in this post.

July, tomato plants starting to reach for the supports.  Coriander [cilantro] in two parts of the bed.

Zinnias starting to grow up.

Zinnias and the new set of Cosmos picotees.  

I resowed those cosmos seeds after the first batch of seedlings was attacked by mealy bugs.  I sprayed soapy water to the adjacent Jaquemontia vine which was the only one infested by mealys.  It came under control and started to bloom again in 2 weeks.

Geranium threw up a lovely set of flowers.

Time for Jasmine [we call this as Jaaji in Kannada]. 

Jaquemontia vine near the pond continues to bloom in profusion, much to the delight of our milkman Subramanya also.  He sees the overhanging plant [cows prune the extras] from the street outside and he admires "they are like blue lights". 

A shot taken of the yard from near the Plumeria tree.  See the Scarlet O'Hara vine in pink bloom growing on my pipe trellis. Those blue pipes had warped and I used the warps on the four pipes to make this tower!!  I put jute rope for the vine to grip as it climbs.

Balsam plants are doing well.  

Zinnias continue to show good signs of healthy growth, so are the two plants in pots there - Angelonia and Bachelor's Button.

About 20 days later, same view.  Zinnias taller and in bloom.

French Marigolds I direct-sowed in this bed near the pond have been doing nicely.  I put in the extra zinnia seedlings in one row behind.  The plastic trellis holds Quamoclit and Orange Noah. 

I had the most delightful surprise on 21st July.  The Nymphaea 'Red Flare'.

I thought it was gone but it had risen like a phoenix.  The last it bloomed was in my first pond 6-7 years ago!! I removed the overgrown blue lily from the pond 3 months ago.  May be this had been dormant ever since it was shifted, I cannot tell.  Now I know that this lily has bronze green leaves, a little different from the leaves of the blue lily which is just green. 

Come August the grand Zinnia show. I sowed more seeds this time.  I put supports to prevent the plants from toppling in the rain and wind gusts.

The opposite bed of Zinnias are also getting ready to show their colours.

This is a pleasing colour.

The Orange Noah flower after a light morning drizzle.  

Morning Glory - Grandpa Otts doing nicely on the small bamboo tower - the plants are in the pot.

Notice my 'lawn'. It is nothing but Bermuda grass, loved by the cows.  I put the clippings out and the cows wait for them from time to time.

August will be rainy month and there is accelerated growth and so more frequently it needs to be cut, to keep the 'lawn' in 'shape'.

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Garden-side pavement project

 Take a peek into my other post first. Here:

 http://junkunjunk.blogspot.in/2013/12/stone-slabs-go-into-pavement.html

This is in continuation of that project. One picture to start with from that project:

In this post, pictures are taken from the other side. Notice the earth and some greens - weedy grass and a stone slab.  This stretch is about 26-28 feet.  First stage was about 25-30%, done last December.  Keep an eye on the 'shed floor' behind 'the mason' - you will see it again at the end.

Now take a look at how it looked just before I took up the second stage.  Picture from the opposite side.  I had added two more slabs that I got. Weedy growth and soil erosion was a problem and too much work, too often.  

The best idea was to cover the larger portion with more slabs and fill up the ends with concrete. I was short of slabs.  So I bought new 2x1 pieces - I needed six.  Cudapa slabs. I had excavated earth on the sides and put in thick gravel.

I filled the gaps with small gravel [left overs salvaged from the house project].

Closer view of cudapa slabs and small gravel.  Ready for cement filling.

Cement-sand mixing. 

The mason himself has to carry out every step - from planning, choosing materials, bringing them, moving them, mixing concrete, moving it to work place, do the job and also 'cure' the cement later!  He also has to maintain the garden [just behind him in this picture ] all year round. Good thing is that he is a resident in the plot.  It was sunny. So I gave him my late uncle's 1965 Khaki cap to protect his head.

Job done. He came the next morning and did the small portion that forms the entry to the garden space on the right. 

Fish eye view lens shot - see curing process - wet pavement. And the mason has to document the scenes himself!  :)

Now about the shed floor I mentioned. After pavement work, the mason neatly filled the gaps between the slabs. This is an old photo taken after arranging the slabs. 

Someone asked how this mason does the job.  So here is a close-up of the 'finish', but just before the cement smoothness.  Dry cement is sprinkled - best done after an hour - and worked with the trowel for smoothness.  This requires some skill.  Otherwise, the dry cement which picks up moisture will peel off and stick to the trowel while working. 

The mason was seen playing on dry cement with the trowel before mixing it with sand.

He put his seal on his work using a rusted nail, cleaned those debris and went away. 

The pavement is ready. This area was eating up lots of my time as weeds were growing too much. This also forms a protective extension of the platform on this portion of the house that stands on the brick foundation. 

Composting I do

A new batch of Free first-aid course in homeopathy had started.  Its venue was our house, year was about 2002 or 2003 and the weekly evening lectures were attended by a number of persons, every Saturday.

One such evening, I was sipping tea under our fiddlewood tree sitting on the stone bench as was my wont.  It was well before the start of the lecture.   Attendees had started to arrive.  One person who had been attending saw me sitting there as he arrived.  He recognized me and I recognized him as Ramesh [Kikkeri], my high school classmate.  We were face to face after nearly 30 years.  A very happy reunion happened.

Ramesh was a renown mischievous lad in those days and of the adventurous type.  Everyone used to envy him just because his house faced the school gate, but milder ones were somewhat afraid of him just because he was of the always-up-to-something sort.

It did not take much time for us to know the many things we had in common as we began to meet often outside the lecture days.

Old picture, house and my garden in 'that portion'. 

One evening before the lecture, he came and sat beside me as I was sipping tea again.  The fiddlewood tree had dropped hundreds of tiny flowers.  I had swept them aside into a pile.  This caught his attention. “What a fine manure you have there!” he exclaimed.  Till that time, I was simply spreading them to the base of plants without actually knowing its value to soil.  "Just put there, it will become manure" was what all I knew.  Ramesh opened my eyes on 'composting'.  The subject was also latent in me.  But I came to know several other related things that I did not know before.  This was to change the way I garden.  I had just then become part of Dave's Garden and there was some scope for me to know more on the web.   

Another Fiddlewood tree in my portion on the right, Almond tree on the left.  See fallen flowers. Most recent picture.

Just about that time, another old friend and schoolmate Ramaswamy, whose house is in a vast plot full of greenery, became 'more friend'!  Because he, Ramesh and I all seemed to be having the same interests but they were already veterans in subjects like rain water harvesting, energy conservation, environment protection, plants, trees and more.  They had gained practical experience which I never imagined and I never had, because of their engineering background.

I began to observe in Ramaswamy's garden how he did not waste the branches, leaves and other things.  I learnt more from him about how they break down and contribute to the earth.  Why not I too do such things I thought, because I had some space then.  I had stopped thinking of using inorganic manure which I earlier used sparingly.  There was a huge load of dry leaves and other organic material from the trees at my disposal in our plot.

Pictured before the almond tree was reduced to half its height.  This is just about half the volume! 

That is ONE LEAF!

I dug up a large pit and started to dump all the huge leaves from the almond tree that shed twice a year.  I had to compress them with my weight into the pit. They were just dry leaves, the 'brown matter' as I learnt long later.  Listening to the farmers’ programme on radio gave me more insight that 'green matter' also contributes to composting.  The matter in that pit was ready in 6 months.  I used to remove and stock it for my potted plants. The stuff was just like soil!  I was amazed the first time I dug up the mature contents!  Wow, I can create soil!! I also stopped burning up the dry leaves to dispose them, once I realized the value of this ‘green gold’, as one attendee of a later course expressed and asked me if he could have some for his garden.  I happily gave him many bags of them as I had so much extra!

Just to show the other half portion of the plot, picture 2013. Click to enlarge.

The plot underwent a division issue and my garden became half.  Things became easier to manage our yard, but still the almond leaves became a problem due to lack of space to compost them.  So I got the top half of the big almond tree cut down – to reduce the amount of leaves.  The place I used to do became no longer mine.  See above picture.

I had seen how Ramaswamy composted his kitchen waste and other 'brown matter'.  I too did similar things to good effect. Ramesh is an organic farmer and an amazing fellow knowing many skills, always up to something as is his wont even now!  He was to build a fuel-efficient boiler/hearth in our house for which fabricator Ramaswamy made the steel drum. And more recently we jointly did the plumbing work for our house - on the outside!  Such is the versatility of Ramesh, but these are just a couple.

Ramesh, with his 125th hearth/boiler he built/designed, 2009.

I am now composting kitchen scrap and most organic matter including spent coffee and tea powder, in my small way that suffices my garden requirement.  I have made two small pits, each about 16x16x12 inches deep.  One will be active and one waits to break down.  I rotate the contents once in a while, but mostly I leave them as they are until the pit is full.  When the lovely black powdery compost is created, I transfer it into bags or directly on to flower beds - it takes about 2-3 months.   Results are nice.  Moreover, my soil gets added with organic matter. Earthworms love this and I need not tell about the value of earthworms to the quality of soil.  Composting has become a part of my gardening activity and worth every joule of effort!  There are a few methods of composting, but this is my method. Also through Ramaswamy and Ramesh, I came to know about Mysore's Pinjrapole Society which sells 'vermicompost'.  I have started to buy this also at times as a supplement to my own compost.

Bottom rectangle is where the two pits are.  Smaller squares above it are the places I had planned to move them when I reshaped the area.

This was just before I dug up the new pits just a couple of feet away. 

Flies and mosquitoes are attracted to compost.  Let them, but not to open shit!! 

Happy composting, happily composting!!

Senecio confusus - found and more

 I had been longing for this beautiful vine, ever since the one I pruned - probably too much - 5 years ago did not survive.  This is Senecio confusus, also known as Mexican Flame Vine and Orange Glow Vine.

Picture from 2007 when it was in its full glory.

Single flower from the cluster.

This is a favourite of the butterflies.  Here is a Blue Tiger enjoying its nectar. 

Seeds, but not known to be viable.  Yet, my Mexico-living friend Bev has success in germinating seeds.  I wonder is that why it is a 'Mexican Flame Vine'?  She has sent me seeds from her vine for me to try half way round the earth. The first batch I sowed failed.  I wanted to give it another try and waited for summer to end.  Just as it ended and I was getting the garden bed ready, I got that mail from Bev about her web search for Jaquemontia she wants to grow.  I have four of this blue vine of which I had sent photos to her.

So that Bev mail triggered my search for the Senecio on the web since it was not available in local nurseries.  This vine was sold some years ago and I saw this in many people's gardens too, but not now.  I wondered how people can overlook such a fine vine that does not ask for too much attention either.  

I landed at one supplier in Bangalore who was ready to supply. I waited before confirming my order.  I was off work and made use of this time to visit a nursery that I had not gone before, but had seen its presence in passing.   So went there, skipping my post-lunch-holiday nap.  It was Sampath Nursery on Bogadi Road.

After going round the vast collection of plants, I picked up a few plants and then asked the owner "Do you have Senecio...."  Before I completed, he completed the plant name "confusus, Senecio confusus, yes I have."  I was delighted, both in finding my plant and also the knowledge of the man with plant names.  He went a few steps and picked up one.  I bought two.  The man here is putting my plants in the cover I had carried. I bought Verbena [trailing], an Angelonia and one other which he named as Heliotrope, but it was not.  But he admitted that he was not sure.  I am still to find its name.  The lone flower had fallen off during my scooter-transit of 7 kms.

He is writing my bill.

The Bill.

 I had a place earmarked to grow Senecio near the wall.  I had all hopes of finding it 3 months ago.

I needed a small trellis for it to climb up the wall.  The 'ladder' was ready - a part of a crude arch I had got made in 2006.  I fastened a nylon net [an old piece from my cricket club net] to the 'ladder'.  The next morning, I planted the new vine in the ground as soon as the support was ready. 

The other Senecio went for the arch near the pond.  One side has Jaquemontia and the other has Morning Glory 'Grandpa Otts'.  Since this MG is short lived, I will now grow the Senecio here and grow  the MG anew in a pot. 

I sowed Zinnia and Cosmos seeds the next day once the Senecio was in place.  They sprouted nicely on the 3rd day.  Hopefully, the new season will have pleasing colours.  Bev has already dispatched a packet of Zinnia singles which she grew from the ones I had sent her.  So one portion of the bed is reserved for them -towards the far end of this bed.

Updates will follow in the coming posts.