I must have flowers, always, and always.(Claude Monet)

When I lost my way in my spring garden last year ,I hoped I would not find a way  out of it and the romance with flowers would spill over to the next spring too. But come October and the unseasonal rain dampened (pun intended) my spirits, the nurseries,the seeds and the dream of another brilliant flowering season . All the seeds I had so carefully preserved from last years bloom would not germinate and even if they did the saplings would  be destroyed by excess water. I was miserable .I visited the nurseries in the city .The private small nurseries charge exorbitantly and are undependable .The Goverment nursery is a paradise and very economical selling a hundred saplings of lovely flowers in not more than 60 rupees . .But this year their seeds had also met the same fate and they had only a few plants on offer .In fact the demand was so high that the gardener there had rationed his supply to all garden lovers .We bought seed packets and continued to plant them in sheltered spots and  in pots. So we had a late flower planting and then the rains again in January .Yet persistence has paid off and here is my spring 2014 garden with many flowers and some new ones too.

Petunias ,Cineraria,Salvia

The Cineraria  with its purple mauve flowers is lavish ,though it has been planted in a place which gets too much sun .I must remember to plant it in a more shady corner. But its flowers continue to burst forth .I learnt that each petal is in fact a flower. So what we call a flower is actually a collection of flowers !The irony of my garden was that initially we had very few saplings and I had to fill my garden  beds accordingly, though later we did manage to have quite a few but by then my flowery mural  had already been made. Anyways candy tuft was in abundance and so I planted them next to the Cineraria and also along with Salvia to get a red and white form. But Salvias were very few so I did not get the desired effect .But candy tuft the small white flowers have flowered profusely and though I was not very fond of them ,I fell in love with these delicate white blooms this year. I can imagine how good they will look if I can plant them in a rockery ,whites peeping from behind boulders.An idea I must use sometime . Next to them also in a reddish hue are the sweet Williams ,but the January rains has delayed their flowering . Their other cousins, the Dianthus , on the other hand has been a pink delight.It has a dark pink centre and the edges are of a lighter shade.  They started flowering early with their zigzag petals and are still a row of lovely daintiness. The other flowers in shades of pink is the Ice plant ,which is one of my favourites. I have made a ground cover of the ice plant and also planted them in a now defunct circular fountain . So with the sun shining bright, these small flowers open up  and are such a breathtaking sight. The new flowers this year are the antirrhinums ,the lupin the godetia ,the sweet sultans . All of these are upright flowers and have given pink blooms this time. Alongside the pink flowers are the shades of purple ,mauve and violet .The larkspur or the delphinium is a new entrant in my garden and I have planted it around my garden lamps. They look wispy and delicate their stalks bending an waving in the wind. And then their is the cornflower,also called the bahelors'  button......... the only blue flower amidst a bewildering variety of pinks and purples ,yellow and oranges.Yet it holds its own and as if to say I am one of you too ,gives pink blooms too. But the blue are really my favourite ,reminding me of glass beads .Its florets spread like a ray and interestingly I found out that if it is worn in a button by young men in love.If it faded quickly it was a sign that the man's love was not returned . I Guess that is why it is also known as the Bachelors buttons!Can one imagine it can be used to cure conjunctivitis !These are more than two feet and I have used them along the walls .

Cornflower

I had planned to plant Hollyhocks ,another one of my favourites nearest the wall and keep the shorter flowers progressively near the garden .But I miscalculated the height of cornflower and now I have a row of larkspur hidden between the hollyhocks and the cornflowers . Blunder in designing. Holly hocks grow tall ,even taller than us and give a column of flowers ,lasting well in to summers .I have them against the wall ,against a window ,anyplace where a tall vertical appeal is required. And the best thing about these plants are that the seeds fall and they sprout up again next year . These are yet to flower fully but I don't mind that because they will be the last flowers to be uprooted. I have them in pinks till now. I am hoping for some reds and yellows too !

When I think of long lasting flowers there is the petunia too. They are in full bloom now, prolific ,in shades of pink,white, purple  and growing larger and denser as the sun becomes stronger . Also flowering more with the sun is the marigold ,again forming a border of my garden . Alongwith the yellow marigold are my other yellow golden herblike  the calendula .They were the first plants to flower. I had a row of marguerite daisy  ,tall about 6 feet high ,followed by cosmos and then lower still the calendula . yellows and oranges ,they gave a bright sunshine look to my garden .The bright deep orange of the nasturtiums ,I call them the free spirit flowers, brings a richness to the spring .And they grow with no restraint,no holding back ,climbimg ,spreading and their deep orange is fiery . 

Poppy,Dahlia,Nasturtium ,marigold in heavenly paradise

If I have the exuberant nasturtiums ,I also have the tall merry dahlias .This time I planted the single flower  ones ,because of the pastel colours which gives a very very soft look ,so gentle nodding their heads in a very joyous  yet graceful manner . If the dahlias are very elegantly merry ,the pansies seem like small elves smiling naughtily as if winking with their velvet petals and monkey faces .

But the garden merriment is full of some other fillers too like the stock which has just started to lower, a couple of geraniums ,gazania which have not flowered as yet ,the dogflowers ,the aster ,the carpet of phlox ,verbena and the climbing sweet peas ,making a pretty  curtain on my mesh .

Oh well despite the October  rains ,the November rains, the January Rains and the freaky weather my garden has come out tops .......a paradise  for my feasting eyes, a riot of colours for the soul , a palette of incomparable exquisiteness for my mind !

Lost in my spring garden

 January , February and March are the months of the flowers in India. We have a small garden but enough to have all the flowers that spring has to offer . I step out of my house ,onto the grass and  lose my way among the beds and the trees. I kneel down to say hello to one of my  favourites , the marigold, the non fussy,cheerful friendly ,generous  soul. .It has been  planted to form a border for the lawn and it so enthusiastically does its picket duties with smiling joyousness. The smaller ones lie low in their yellow-orange  and golden-brass  As I circle the garden , I look down and return their smiles and nod in agreement when they seem to tell me that planting the nasturtiums in corners was a good idea. The orange nasturtiums , so close to my heart , creep merrily and spill over  on the grass  . They have even climbed up the lampposts in the corners. I planted them around the mango and peepal  ,daring them to encircle the huge trees. They took up the challenge and not only do I have an anklet of nasturtiums around the trunks,they have also managed to climb up ,winking at me to say if the money plant can climb up and grow so can we. The nasturtiums and marigold with their intermingling yellow and orange hues will last long. As cheerful as they are,they are also hardy ,revelling in the yellow sunshine. 

I tear myself away from these generous flowers ,only to stumble on the calendulas. Yellow again, but then yellow is the colour of this season for me. Bright sunshine and so very Indian . Slightly taller than my "gendi ' or the marigold edging ,they have flowered in profusion .As I bend down, to caress them,I spot several varieties ,the simple to the double petalled. Suddenly I find a tickle on my nose and look upto see the Margarit,another yellow , laughing and beckoning me. Its tall ,thin stem bends down to reach to the other ones ,all the time its shapely pale yellow petals spread cheer. The flowers are similar to the calendula but the leaves are smaller and fine . Its difficult to come out of these yellow  beds ,catching the sunshine and being one with the sun. 

Poppy

I manage to find my way out of this ,only to be stopped in my tracks by the very waiflike yellow poppy.Light and sheer they appear like butterflies flitting in one place .I planted the red poppies too .In one of the beds these are just behind the yellow ones and the two look gorgeous together .But in another corner,there are only red ones,some with a cluster of petals and some single petaled. But before the red can consume me ,I see  white poppy ,with a delicate blushing tinge of red .And the pink one next to it creating a lovely sequence of a red ,pink and white poppy with tinges of red. What a happy feeling it is to see the red too. And there there were the Salvias. Almost the same height as poppy but with denser leaves and a column of flowers.The red seems to have a matte finish. Salvias form a backdrop bed for the garden .They are solid flowers,whereas the yellow iris in the adjoining bed seems to be there and not there .Small yellow they were the first to flower and the first to have seeds.So its time to let the pods ripen and save the seeds for the next season.
These are the flowers in profusion . I find my way out of this Golden delight to gaze upon the flamboyant Gazanias . They are showing off their bright colours . Bright yellow,creamish yellow,pink ,mauve,lilac all vying for attention and forcing me to look their way .They are some of the most beautiful and striking flowers,bold and brash , needing Good light for them to open out to the world. Evenings I can see them , petals folded fast asleep! Next to them is the Cineraria,no less eye catching. The larger ,ones this time are mostly purple but the smaller or the button sized ones are in many different hues.White,pink, purple ,they are just like a big cluster of small buttons ,near the ground ,looking up at me with a baby innocent look. After the unicoloured marigold,calendula and margarit,the other flowers are all in various hues bunched together.The multihued cover on the ground is breathtaking. I love the dog flower ,the colours not as bright as the Gazania or Cineraria,but the bell shape  shape so unique ,each stalk having several small flowers on it. Lower down is the Dianthus,again in  myriad colours mostly a deep pink with white zigzag edges ,some in a deep shade of red ,some lavender too ,but all with ends shaded a lighter colour .The dianthus looks dainty,lacelike ,and very fragile.A similar looking flower but on close observation very different is the iceplant. A hardy succulent,,in pink  and white , this opens up in the sun and nods happily at the world ,short stalked barely lifting above the ground.

Dogflower 

Phlox and the guava tree 

The purple ,violet, fuchsia,magenta riot continues as the monkey faced pansies join in the fun. The hybrids are bigger with their fan shaped petals but the local variety is impish with its simian smiles.the velvety texture of the petals makes me want to caress them .But the Pansies are a little restrained ,unlike the petunias which flower with such exuberance  the whites,the pink and the purple and a crimson or two, abound ,growing with wild abandon everywhere. No sophisticated elegance for them.I have them wherever I want a large area to be covered.The flowerbed under the window sill,in planters ,in hanging baskets and where have you.Non demanding and long lasting,they are the hardiest of the winter flowers and will continue to flower till late April.The sturdiness of the Petunias is offset by the tiny Candytuft ,the dainty looking white blanket that grows swiftly and has covered the ground. It will grow again next year even if I dont plant more seeds.So undemanding and giving . I move around ad reach by Guava tree in the garden.Its so well placed and gives some shade so I can place a chair and sit down under it ,with not too much sun and not too much shade. The foot of the guava tree has the Phlox ,the star shaped flowers hugging  it and nodding their heads happily.They look like a bunch of children playing in the park ,in shades of pink,purple,red and white .There are two flowers which I have not been able to identify ,one is a bigger starshaped too,in colors of red and pink .the other is white ,cream and orangish-red . The chrysanthemums were the first to flower and wither,the heralders of all things beautiful. The white snowball had grown well,and so had the small
     How impossible it is to get out of this luxury .I lie on the grass ,looking hungrily all around,trying to save these images before the heat withers them and before the rites of passage make the flowers dry or become fruits. I am going to save the seeds for the next year . But there is more to come from this treasure spot.Near the walls are the Hollyhocks and the Dahlias.The hollyhocks blossom a little late,but I know they will continue till May .White ,soft pink and darker ones ,they form a lovely backdrop to the craziness of the smaller flowers.The Dahlias ,of course with their huge flowers ,the plants bending under their weight seem to look down on everything else in the garden.While the hollyhocks are ready to play with all others,the Dahlias maintain a stately, statesque stance,proud but charming.
While the trees are shedding their leaves in the spring,the flowers are all in bloom .Is it a wonder that I have stopped going inside my house ,but roam around in my garden like a lost wanderer,weaving in and out of the happy flowers, a caress here, a sigh there, a fragrance calling me from a corner , a nod from another. But I have company.Its the butterflies which I see ,delighted ,flitting from flower to flower.And the birds chirping ,singing,picking at seeds and having a party. The squirrels running on the grass trying to remember where they hid their nuts and I presume playing hide and seek .
Oh how the earth laughs in flowers.(Emerson)
I hope some day to meet God, because I want to thank Him for the flowers. ~Robert Brault