I'm tired of white

Since the arrival of Vasanta, he hasn't given me much color except the sparsely blooming Ixora,

Cape Honeysuckle,

and Indian Licorice. I was tired of seeing white everywhere.

Not that I don't like them, but I would appreciate some color for a change, which is why I am desperately trying to germinate cornflowers, calendulas, and other ornamentals, but it's sad that they aren't germinating at all!

Dear Seeds,

I am greatly offended by this behavior. I tried by sowing y'all directly out in the sun, but you never showed up your green heads. Thinking you resented the white hot sun who's heating up the climate up to 34 degree Celsius (93.2 degree Fahrenheit), I put you guys in paper cups and fed you with spoon so as not to flood you and placed you under the gentle Fluorescent light, where the temperature is about 30 degree Celsius (86 degree Fahrenheit). Is that still hot for you guys? Well, I have setup something else for you guys - the baggy method - I now placed you guys in wet paper towels in ziploc bags. Hope you guys germinate now at least. Please don't offend me this time...

By the ways, what was I saying?

Oh yea, the color in Plantville. After almost a month of white (Don't get offended Jasmine  and Leucas - it's nice to have you around, but I just want some color is all)

something showed up its beautiful, big, bright faces!

Suddenly Planville was all pink and smiling! What a surprise! This plant surprises me again this year as it did last year by blooming unexpectedly. I thought the bulbs were overly crowded and needed repotting. The other day, I thought of removing the bulbs and diving them, but to my surprise I saw a tiny stalk emerging from the soil!

In a matter of two days another stalk rose up

and third showed up the next week.

AND a fourth few days later! Isn't that superb? That too in a pot that was fertlized badly. Well, I don't remember spraying this pot at all!

I think this is the fifth stalk... Now that'd oh-so awesome!

Now I can enjoy the show for at least two more weeks!

YAY!

Following cue, the Dwarf Ixora sent out a profusion of blooms. I just wish my seeds germinate and give Plantville some color.

Update on my Tomatoes: Two berries have swollen to about an inch or more and there are more berries forming!

I need an advice from you: This pot that houses the tomato is really small and I doubt if it can hold the plant. To make if worse, there's another seedling in it. I can't divide them as their roots must have twined with each other already. Is it wise to repot it to a bigger pot now? I'm afraid of disturbing the fruit production by repotting.

Update on the grass/Muscari: I did want to let the grass or Muscari grow and give it a chance as I do with all the weeds - as you all know, but four days ago, I saw that the cup had only a little piece of the grass and the root seems to have gone! Poof! So was there a bulb inside? Did the pesky, danged, words-that-cannot-be-typed squirrels eat it up? They seemed to have played around with my Sugar Melon seedling, but luckily it survived. It killed my Swainsona seedling by toppling the cup over while trying to reach the Muscari.
I'm sure it's a squirrel as I've seen two squirrels always playing around. Should spray the garlic around to keep them away. So was it Muscari really? If so, is Muscari edible for squirrels? Hmmmm....
I've never seen squirrels attack grasses that grow on other pots... I guess I'll never know what it was.

Update on the groundcherries: Many have  ripened now - not enough to make a bottle of Jam, but I guess I gotta use them up somehow. Have any recipe for me? Most of the recipes that I search online suggest Jams.

The Spring is almost here and the climate is already hot! I envy people from Northern parts of India where I hear it is not yet warm. Hot means watering twice and even if you miss once, you'd end up with sad droopy plants that sometimes might not ever stand back up! Scary, isn't it!

Not much is blooming in Plantville, but those that are, are doing really great like the Pink Ixora.
The Dwarf Oleander is just beginning to bloom after I repotted it. All it's been doing is sending out lots of buds.

The White Oleander is going crazy with its double blooms.

White seems to be ruling Plantville. It is surprising to see that this Jasmine (still trying to find it's botanical name) variety that stops blooming by winter is still sending out two or three blooms every day!

And this Nyctanthes has almost stopped, but for one or two every week.
This Dwarf Ixora seems to welcome the hot sun with the spring coming and so are the Crape Jasmines.

One plant that's really loving this hot sun is this Hummingbird Vine. Its maroon hot blooms really lights up the space. I'm sure this would be welcomed by the cuties over at Catherine's garden. If only, the customs allowed seed shipping, I'd be glad to send some over to her or anyone who have hummingbirds visiting their gardens. I read that the birds love this Vine.
I was speaking of seed starting in my last post and I did start some but only Bush tomato and Purple Basil have germinated.

Others have only weeds in them. Once again, the strawberry seems to have give up on me. Well, the trial would continue.

Looking at all these weed plants and the centipedes in the soil that I buy from nursery, I decided to use coir pith or coco peat as the growing medium. After long, tiring search and many phone calls, I got 4 kgs of coco peat from a dealer here. YAY! I sowed Eggplant, Cayenne Long Pepper, Fennel, Cornflower (I'm longing for these), and Borage. I wish all of them germinate, coz I finally am ready for veggies! I have quite a few radish hybrid seeds but am hesitant to sow them now, as I ended up with junk last year. Do you think this is the right time for radishes? Or do I wait for the end of summer? (It's about 30 deg. C here now - 86 deg. F)

Belated Wishes ye' Horny ones! (Now, don't go wild with your imaginations)

How many times have I told you that I’ve been busy and that I’m lagging behind? Well here, plus one now :D

My sister’s wedding arrangements are keeping me busy and from blogging and reading others’ blogs, but I try my best. So if I haven’t visited your blogs or haven’t replied back immediately here, know that I’m not ignoring ye’all but I’m just busy. I’ll be back with boring and torturing [chuckle] more-frequent posts by June. :P

I know I’m late but hey, better late than never, they say. So, belated birthday wishes to all Arians. Hope it was a great start to you this year.

When you say Aries, no-nonsense approach is the first thing that pops to my mind

Plumbago - Plumbago auriculata - Nîlacitraka

 and I know quite a few Arians and they so fit this description.

Hibiscus - Hibiscus rosa-sinesis - Japâ

Arians expect devotion in friendships and give you a strong support in return.

In a crowd, you’d find that the Arians are lively participants every day.

They’re frank!

Rangoon Creeper - Quisqualis indica

That makes them a great person to know and of course this trait doesn’t help all the time with them as they’d be frank even during the wrong times. [chuckling]

Purple Allamanda - Allamanda blanchetii

Found this beautiful advice while googling and couldn’t help copy-paste it here –

Much as you are the Ram, there is still the little lamb in you, which means that at times you would attain your goals more easily by gently giving in without resistance to the demands of a given social situation, rather than getting your horns entangled in something larger and more powerful than yourself.

Ixora - Ixora coccinea

I wish this year brings you loads of happiness and you find the real you in yourself. Keep searching…

Weekly Macro

You see something? Now?You should able to spot it now...

Dwarf Ixora - Ixora coccinea

Have you?
Yes! That's a five petalled Ixora! That's not uncommon, but not very common either. This is the first time I see a five petalled bloom in Ixora!

The Crowd

While Stars and Superstars do make a city famous and known, it’s the audience, the normal denizens of the place complete the city and there are those aspiring stars, who’re like the laymen, in Plantville too. It’s said that Iruvâkshî (iru-vaak-shii - variety of Jasmine whose botanical name or common English name I’m unable to find yet) is the oldest resident of Plantville.

Iruvâkshî (Tamil)

Everyone lovingly call her the Old Hag though she looks ever-young. She boasts that she’s lived over eons and that she doesn’t remember how old she exactly is. Citraka (Plumbago) and Yello Rain Lily always burst into a laugh whenever she says that.

Left - Rainlily Yellow Zephyranthes citrina

Right - Plumbago - Plumbago auriculata - Citraka

Iruvâkshî says that knows all the ancient lays and is the source of entertainment for the inhabitants of Plantville. The Old Hag never goes short of bed-time stories. She promised to tell me some, so that I can share them with you in future, but it’s quite a trick to get it out of her, as most of the time she’d ramble on about incomprehensible stuff. She shares her room with the poor Jasmine (yet another variety I am yet to identify), who’s bored of her rambles.

Jasmine

Recently two little cutting babies joined the troop and they love their ‘gra-mma’ and her stories.

Wingpod Purslane - Portulaca umbraticola

Kiss Me Quick, Pink Purslane - Portulaca pilosa

The naughty kiddo too loves her (I’m not sure who it is – could be Zinnia) too.

The Hari Champa always drones whenever she begins her stories. Or for that matter I’ve never seen him awake (See if you can spot him at the back).

His roommate – Miss Crape adores her granny and blooms feverishly out of delight whenever the granny’s stories mention her ancestors.

Crape Jasmine Flore Pleno - Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno' - Adukku Nandiar Vattai (Tamil)

The duo teens – Orange and Mini Red Roses always make fun of her throwing thorns at her and whenever she looked at them questioningly, they’d wear sorry faces that’d melt the granny.

Orange and Mini Red Rose

The Proud Nick and Holy Basil, though hidden are almost always the center of attraction in the stories. They'd always be praised by granny for their flowers and leaves are one of Lord Krishna’s favorite.

Coral Jasmine - Nyctanthes arbor-tristis - Pârijâta (Sanskrit) Holy Basil - Tulasî

Bael was no less famous in the troop and he was also shared most of her stories and his unknown roommate would silently listen to the lays – no one cares for her, as she prefers not to be.

Bael - Aegle Marmelos - Bilva/Sivadruma (Sanskrit)

It’s Asoka who removed the sadness of all in Plantville after the expiry of their dear friend and her roommate, who’s recovering from his illness.

Sorrowless Tree - Saraca indica - Asoka

Rangoon Creeper - Quisqualis indica

The grandma says that the Spinach (to be identified) is one of the ancient one too – that they’ve witnessed the birth of moon! At which everyone gave out a low, ‘Oooooooh….’

Spinach - Siru keerai (Sanskrit)

Pommy, after her initial attack by some disease and lots of pruning, injections, and drugs, finally began regaining consciousness and finally knew that the world was alive around her and realized Chicky had populated her room.

Pomegranate - Punica granatum - Dâdima

Chicken Weed - Portulaca quadritida - Pasalai keerai (Tamil)

Wax Rose – one of the elders in the city would take care of the other residents and had no time for the Hag’s rambles. She was the one who rescue the Ixora from the hurricane and tended her, encouraging her to bloom once again.

Wax Rose - Pereskia bleo

Dwarf Ixora Pink - Ixora coccinea

The only resident of the Plantville who’d very sincerely and dedicatedly listen to grandma’s stories was Olie, who never became tired of her stories.

Dwarf Oleander - Nerium oleander - Karavîra

In the hot and sunny days the lily (to be identified – Daylily?) would fan everyone as they droned and listened to granny’s legends.

Hope I can get some of her legends for you soon. As I said it’s a tricky job as she’s a tough ol’ hag!