The Gardener....

Ever since childhood, or ever since we moved into our own house when i was in my 7th grade, my interest to write poems began. With inspiration from my english teachers, i began to write about nature. There was even a chance given to me to write a poem on saving nature. It was a casual assignment that my english teacher gave me to motivate me to write more. 

This blog is in fond remembrance of my english teach Mrs. Jayalakshmi who was one among the few great teachers who have fed me with fondness towards this language. Also, i thank my other english teachers Prema miss and Anuradha miss. About the interest towards gardening. How did it begin? It was a rainy day and in the property my dad purchased, there was this newly married couple who were from karnataka. Karnataka reminds me of the beautiful rose plants in almost every house i came across in Bangalore and Mysore. True to their reputation, this young couple had a beautiful garden and were even worried about the plants after they move out of this house. As a kid, i assured them that i would do my best to keep these plants safe even after they were gone and promised that they won't be harmed in anyway.

A month passed and we had fully moved into our new house. I was amazed by the variety of plants found within our compound. Roses, lilly, money plant, jasmine, hibiscus, curry leaves, ornamental plants, teak wood, coconut trees, guava tree, banana, papaya, pineapple, custard apple, tulsi, cactus and so on. All these within a very small space. I was so happy. Every evening i would come home and start watering the plants. They were so many in number that i had to divide the area into two and do the watering morning and evening. After watering the plants, i would take a cup and go to collect the jasmine flowers. Later, i would sit in the terrace enjoying the coconut trees offering me the music of their leaves and the gentle breeze. I became a businessman selling the quarterly yield of coconuts from 3 trees which would number to 100+ and i would get to sell 100 to the nearby shop and make money even before i entered high school. And the money would be handed over to mom. The pineapple that i ate from my own garden is the best i have ever tasted because of the months i had to wait for the fruit to ripen and for me to taste it. 

The banana yield is also worth mentioning. The fruits would have big  seeds in them but still i enjoyed eating the pulp. The custard apple tree would be filled with squirrels and i will have a challenging time safeguarding the fruits during the summer vacation. When the day gets too hot, i climb up the terrace and would enjoy the tender coconuts. Every morning, the nearby shopkeeper would come home to collect curry leaves from the big tree-like plant. The rose plants and other flowering plants will be watered in such a way that they survive the summer heat. 

The hibiscus plants would yield so many flowers every morning that it would fill up our puja room. Before starting to school, i would collect all the flowers and give it to mom and it is a strict order that no one except me or my dad goes near the flowering plants, including my mom because they were short and would end up breaking the branches of the plants which makes me go mad. 

The much safeguarded garden is no more today as we had to sell our house for facilitating future investments yet my passion towards setting up a garden wherever i go still goes on. In the new house where we have moved on, i have planted several flowering plants and when they bloom for the first time, that is the best feeling i can ever get which cannot be explained by mere words. The first bloom happened on a rainy day last year and till date, i get a chance to make garlands and take it to temple every sunday and describe it as "my garden, his flowers". Of recent, i have planted turmeric, banana plant, jasmine, mango, custard apple, curry leaves, tulsi, andhi mandhaarai, neem tree, lime tree, bitter gourd(hybrid variety that yields quite often), chikoo tree, spinach and kasthuri flower plants. Now, my house is filled with greenery and i am multiplying the plants during this monsoon season to facilitate more green cover. Ever since childhood, i have had this passion to raise plants and plant trees. The shade which i enjoy, the flowers that i collect, the fruits that i taste, the beauty that it adds is all worth living for. I suggest everyone does at least their bare minimum to save this planet and to add more green cover to our world.

Note: The very 1st pic was clicked wit ma Nokia c6-00. Ma best clic in de garden so far. view it in fullscreen mode n  zoom in 2 c de insect on it... :)  ]