This morning, I spent some quality time with my garden. Well, it was screaming for attention, so I had no real choice.
When we moved here, I started hunting for gardeners, only to find that every gardener around here was super booked for spring and summer. My neighbour’s gardener offered to come by, if he comes across some free spot, but that hasn’t happened so far. So I had to take matters into my hands and tidy it up. I had done it once before and in no time, the garden is over-grown again. I was hoping against hope that one of those numerous gardeners would get free, but that does not seem to be happening, and my garden looked ready to grow into a forest, so I had no real choice.
We have a little front garden and a little back yard, and believe me, it did not look so little today. What with Poohi’s running commentary about how she can’t talk louder than the lawn mower and us finding a little baby snail, which then turned into a conversation about how we could build a house for the snail, with her building blocks. I had been absent-mindedly saying ‘yes’, when she ran in to get her blocks and I realized what I had just agreed to.
So then it took some story telling(around the snail) to explain why the snail does not need a house. Then off madam went to find the rest of the snail family. Anyway, here is the all-important snail. And in case you guys, don’t remember about this obsession with snails, it started quite a while back. And will someone please tell me, how a child who loves snails can be scared of bees or any insect for that matter?
And a few pictures of my garden in bloom. These are plants that had been planted before we came here. And I love the roses! The one in the picture is one the first of the season, and there are so many buds, I can’t wait for them to bloom.
And these are my contribution to the flora around here.
By the way, there seems to be something eating up some of my plants. I had planted some marigold and dahlias in the garden but something seems to be eating them all up. I can’t see anything but some slime near the plants. Any idea what it might be? I took a couple of marigold seedlings and planted them in a planter and kept it in the conservatory, and so far, it seems alright.. So I do think that there is something that is eating up my plants in the garden. And eating selectively too! It leaves all those weeds untouched!
And oh yes,before I forget, I have started associating summer and sunny days with the sound of lawn mowers. Every lawn mower in the area gets used during the few sunny days that we get.
I’m with Poohi on this snails vs. bees business…See it is like this, Smitha, snails hardly ever move while bees move very fast…
Her reaction to the bees is so funny! She screams like she is being attacked š Yes, I guess the fact that the bees move very fast must be part of the problem š
Beautiful flowers…Makes me want to live in a house…
We lived in an apartment in London, so it was so wonderful to move into a house here. I love living in houses.
I thought my reader said just 1 min ago..and I’m already late to comment
You guys are too quick š
na na we aren’t quick…we are quick fixed to the reader all the time š
LOL! Quick-fixed indeed š
Poohi is super cute and intelligent kid Smiths š Credit goes to you parents no doubt š
Thanks, Nu š But I do think she picks up quite a bit from school and her friends.
Wow garden in the front and back too ! I love such houses..we too have two gardens where we have flowers and ferns in the front and veggies and fruits at the back š
I wanted to do some veggie planting – but I need a gardener to make proper beds. Right now, I can only get the lawn in order and maintain the existing plants.
the flowers pictures are eye delight š
I love flowers š
I agree that she might be picking up from friends too but what to pick and what to leave behind is intelligence and that comes only from the home š
In that case, thank you š
You know, you should post a few pics of your garden! I would love to see it!
that’s a nice idea..will do š
Will wait for it then š
Could that slime be from all the snails…….;-)
I have been wondering, but I haven’t seen that many snails – just this one, so far. And these plants are in pots. So I wonder how/what is happening.
Flowers bring so much life to a house, love the blooms in your garden. Sunflowers are such happy flowers, I love them!
We planted some sun flowers, but some birds managed to peck through and eat all the seeds! I should have planted the seeds indoors and then transplanted them to the garden.
Oh Sandhya, did you mean the flower in the pic – that is part of the sunflower family but not a proper one. I always wanted to plant those sunflowers which grow taller than us š They look so lovely!
Yes, the one in the picture š
That is a Gerbera. It is part of the sunflower family but can be grown in pots – so I have this indoors – in the conservatory.
We had the ones that grow taller than us, they do need a lot of direction and help! Saumya wants to do it again……though i am not too keen!
I would love to do it, but clearly it is not happening now. We are leaving for a 1.5 month vacation to India, so I will have to pass on all my pots to friends and hope that my garden survives. So I am not planting any now š¦
Oh right!! How could I not recognize a gerbera, they are all over my house, the unreal ones because its so cold for most of the year and the heating is on, the real one’s do not survive. The yellow color deceived me I guess!! š
Gerberas are so lively and come in every imaginable color!!
I have loads of the ‘unreal’ ones too š They do give a good feel, don’t they? The real ones are sure to die or whither once winter sets in š¦ Oh yes! The colours are so vibrant, aren’t they?
Man you have some major green thumb!
My only success has been the ability to maintain my ONE plan tto live for a year.. and it finally has “a” flower in it….
I have killed plants too š My coriander plant died – I have no idea why! My mint thankfully survived. Have planted some more coriander seeds. Fingers crossed.
But my plant needs to get repotted.. and I have no clue what to do… I am planning to take it Home Depot.. pay an insane amount of money.. just for re-potting.. If it do it myself, I feel, it will die… not that I know anything about that š
here are step by step instructions for re-potting – http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/houseplant/houseplant-compost-repot1.asp, but if you are not sure, you are better off getting somebody else to do it.
Gardening does take a lot of patience!
I really enjoy it, to be honest š Every time a new leaf or a new flower, I rush to capture it š
I totally admire Gardens… š
I’m the sort who kills the weeds as well along with the plants!
If we were to have a garden, I would need a gardner for sure!! š
LOL! I would have loved to have a gardener too – because they can do some things so much better.
Poohi is so cute! Give her a hug from me will ya?! š
Done š
And of course, the flowers are a delight!
Thanks Pixie š I love looking at them too š
the sound of lawns being moved and the smell of grass cut – that’s beautiful!
I know! I love the smell of cut grass too!
Poohi sounds really cute and inquisitive š
She is very inquisitive, which can get a little tiring for us š
And for the flowers, well done Smitha! Your garden looks fab! š
Thanks celestialrays š
First, I loveeee the flowers…so cute, bright and they can make anyone’s day more brighter by their presence.
I so agree! I love seeing the flowers first thing in the morning š
You’ve such a beautiful garden, Smithu…my urge to shift to a bigger house from a flat is increasing…I am just holding for one reason – here my kids have lots of friends.
I can imagine. Kids have so much company, don’t they in flats in India. Here most families live in houses, so flats are comparatively boring.
The snail story is so cute…Poohi is a such a loving child – may be she has in her to become a Wildlife enthusiast !!!!
That would be wonderful
Are u thinner by one day…I heard that gardening burns a lots of calories…LOL š
I wish! That can help only if one can resist snacking on chocolate to feel human again š
ewwww…the snail loooks yuck !!! Didnt you teach her the difference between yucky and non-yucky stuffs ??? Oh you are afraid then that she would stop eating the food you cooked, huh? Hmmm….I can understand !! š š š š
Very funny š She loves snails, I have no idea why š Now don’t you dare tell me that my food must look like snails š
Flowers are looking nice, but I dont like ’em ! š
Yeah, yeah , I remember your aversion to flowers. Does Laxmi share your taste in flowers too?
Seriously, I have no clue !! I know for sure she hates jasmin, cuz I saw her throwing those flowers away from her hair after our wedding. But now I doubt if it was because she was frustrated that day getting married to me ! š š š
LOL! Yes the second possibility is a real possibility, I would say š
Poor thing, little did she know what she was getting into š
Awww..I love your garden,Smits..sans that snail of course :D..but I guess you’ll have to raise them as a part of your family for Poohikutty’s sake,nahi?? LOL!!
Oh yeah! With building block houses for all of them š
Flowers spread such warmth and positivity,no?? In this heat I’m hardly able to grow flowers,yar š¦
I just love flowers around the house. I used to make do with bought flowers, but growing your own plant is just wonderful š I am going to miss all this if we have to move into a flat..
I love that yellow rose..its beautiful..in fact all the flowers are gorgeous š
There so many rose buds! Am excited to see them all bloom !
Will be back to read the post on Poohikutt’s snail-obsession.
Bye for now.You have a great week ahead, Smits. Ummas to Kunjumani š
You have a great weekend too! Hugs and ummas to Nammukutty!
I love gardening.it is so nice to see changes so fast.currently all my plants r getting dried,it is so hot here the plants r suffering!!
Summer, I guess! Here summer is gorgeous, it is the time when flowers bloom and everything looks green.
But it would me so exciting to see snails in ur garden. l am sure Nayna would have loved to see them in her garden.and what story for U tell poohi??
Poohi loves snails, so every snail she spots is an huge excitement š How old is Nayna? The story – it was just a bunch of rubbish, honestly š I make up weird stories all the time for her š
Nayna is six but to me she is still very small! And she is a big story-teller, herself, she makes up a lot of stuff, wonder when it will prove to be dangerous…:)
smithus… u have a life that a lot of ppl wud kill to have š
Really? Wouldn’t people prefer a life with gardeners and domestic help š
enjoy every moment… touchwood.
I am :), thanks Ash. Waiting for you to update your place š
Only you can add that in the middle of a comment on ur own post!! lol š
coming up with a post by tonight š
Wonder, why I get ur updates hours late!! Reader needs a clean up I guess…!! š
Green fingers.. that rose is too good. And the variety of flowers š š š I love roses but looking after a rose, I’m bad at that!!
Recently, when my neighbours left for their vacation, I was the stand in water giver to their plants, and I so loved doing it every day, twice, just sprinking water, and seeing the leaves stand up and say a thank u, I loved it.. makes me want a mini garden in the flat :):)
She was going to build a house for the snail haa ha:) Poohi is such a lovely child, very caring nature š š ..
Remember when my bro was her age, he used to love those orange-black striped worms, those that itch… and say, what a colour combination:) Kids š
Wow that garden is super awesome š š
/*finding a little baby snail, which then turned into a conversation about how we could build a house for the snail, with her building blocks. I had been absent-mindedly saying āyesā, when she ran in to get her blocks and I realized what I had just agreed to.*/
ROFL š š be careful Smitha… š š
I think if Poohi has seen a snail here in India she wouldn’t have liked much as here the water ponds are covered with the algae and snails are generally unclean and not attractive…
but I don’t like bees as they are harmful š
I am missing a lot of posts of you Smitha due to this Nablapomo and my weird shift timings… Really sorry.. will read all the missed posts by weekend.. š š
Lovely flowers in your garden!
Thats a cute garden… and I love snails too…. š
You too š
I have no clue what’s eating the lovelies…awesome clicks !!
Thanks Bedazzled.
Awww I luv snails too. So, I cn build a house for them with Poohi when we meet š š
Goodness! What will I do with the two of you??
I luvvv hvng such gardens .. since we live in an apartment, I hv to do with the potted ones in my balcony. But still, we hv a nice one surrounding the apartment where I spend some time too š š
Me too! I really like green spaces. In Bangalore, we will have to live in a flat initially, but I do plan to make the most of the balcony space š
My In-laws hv such a big garden that I am sooo jealous of them š š Imagine eating such fresh veggies … slurp š š
My parents do the same, they rarely buy stuff from outside – they grow most of the veggies š I want to do that too – someday!
I luvvvved ur contribution Smithu š š š
Thanks dearie š
Aww poohi is cute, you should be careful from now š and the garden looks really lovely yar š
I know, I should be more careful š Thanks loads, Aniruddha.
Awww…so nice Smitha!!! Enjoy.. summer is finally here š And pay us a visit soon š Or tell me when we can come to see u š (Uninvited guests, u see š )
Come over! Right away š We are here till July mid – come anytime before that š Will call you – I keep planning to call you but never end up – will call on Tuesday – am super busy till then š
Hey what’s wrong with liking snails??? Will bring a bag full of them when I visit poohi kutty.
Smithu you have a lovely garden and of course as I said a number of times before a lovely home too. I tried having a garden but the husband played the villain. Have to do a post about it before I die.