Green Escapes

I dont exactly remember as to when I developed a liking for gardening, but it started with my aunt gifting me rose saplings on my birthday. I was overjoyed to have plants in my possesion which would now bear beautiful flowers and the fact that they would be all mine. Everyday i would enjoy watching every bit of that plant growing and at that age felt quite amused. 

But today, about 10 - 12 years after recieving the gifted plants I now boast of a good collection of plants which I have been taking care of since a few years now. Its in these couple of years that I developed a craziness for my green buddies. With space constraints as I stay in a metro like Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay), open space is a rare commodity. So in the balconies of my flat, I have my own green world.

2 years ago I did a course on Bonsai and instantly fell in love with that art. Though it expects the person to be patient with the plant he is working on, its a great way to grow plants in confined spaces, make them look aesthetically beautiful, apart from the misconceptions popular about bonsai.

Jade Bonsai in training.

Utilizing every milimeter of space available, my balconies are jammed with plants and yet the hunger for more has not satiated. I then shifted to hanging plants. I got the carpenter guy to screw up some hooks on my balcony ceiling and there i had a batch of few hanging pots ready with flowering succulent varieties.

Portulaca and Aptenia grow well in hanging pots.

I also have a bluebellvine also known as clitoria ternatea. Its a creeper that grows quite tall and bears blue flowers which contrast with the green leaves. A regular pruning of the vine to maintain its height is all thats needed.

Clitoria ternatea flowers and vine.

I have so far experimented with growing capsicums, chillies, spinach, and other herbs by simply sowing the seeds. 

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My recent new found love is 'Kokedama'. Kokedama is a japanese word which literaly means MossBall. A plant is wrapped in a ball of potting mixture first and then that is wrapped with moss and tied with thread. Its either hanged or kept on a dish.

Aralia Kokedama - grown from cuttings.

People unnecessarily create a fuss about gardening, but starting with the simplest, cheapest and easily available things one could have a small garden of their own. Basic knowledge about plants can be sought from the internet. Many plants in my collection have been and can be simply grown from cuttings, seeds etc. 

Beautiful Portulaca flowers grown from cuttings.

Gardening gives me so much relaxation, mental peace. My day starts with having a look at my greens, a quick glance to see which flowers are blooming today, which ones are getting new shoots, if there are any pests or not and so on.  I usually water them in the evenings, so that time is MY OWN TIME, its my space. Gardening has given me, gives me and will give me a lot of joy and happiness. Happy Gardening.

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