#MyGreenGarden
For almost 9 years we lived in a rented apt that had this beautiful green patch below the building. A few residents attended to it and then they shifted out so left it to me. My childoo was 3 or 4 years old then, the perfect age to be my little assistant! So we made our green patch our little secret world. For me and she.
It was our binding time. In the late afternoons when the sun wasn't on our green patch, we'd take her gardening set and weed the plants. Pluck the chillies, bhindi, baby tomatoes, spinach, lal bhaaji, baby brinjals, flat beans, kadi patta, tulsi, basil, mint, bananas and what not!
Whatever we threw in the soil, would magically grow.
There was this drumstick tree that attracted the most beautiful birds. We would play hide n seek with the butterflies in the leaves and try to listen in on the birds' private conversations.
There was a valley below, right next to our garden which we could see from our balcony on the first floor. The valley's greenery and birds added to the magic of our garden. I would chuck pumpkin seeds in the valley and they would grow like Jack's beanstalk!!
It was our secret garden where there were no rules, just fun moments, magic and a lot of imagination :)
When monsoon came our lovely green patch became a mess. The drumstick tree would lose all of it's leaves but stand strong against the harsh winds and rains.
Last year when we were to shift to our new apt, with a heavy heart I said goodbye to the green patch. I'm not much of a pot person, but I still bought around 15 pots and took cuttings of all the plants from my beloved green patch. The palm, the chillies, tulsi, kadi patta, money plant and more.
Only the kadi patta has really survived and done well. It didn't look like it would survive the harsh monsoon last year. But it did!
I was away for 40 days this summer, and the watchman who was watering them didn't realise they were getting too much sun. Sigh. I need to re-look at my gardening strategy this year.
My lesson: be like the kadi patta. Grow silently, strongly. Add flavour wherever you go.
Here's an old pic of half of my green patch (the other half is on the other side, inside) which I sometimes miss, but then I look around at my beautiful home and it's surroundings and I tell myself "you can't have everything" :)
Have a lovely day. May your fingers be green, and may you and your childoos grow healthy, wholesome and magical stuff in your green patch...