My World- Hot, Loud and Proud

The gardener who used to work for me one hour every day has left as he got a more lucrative job as the village priest. It is two months since I am doing all the hard work myself. Fortunately for me, the garden and the weather have been co-operating with me. The Swiss Cheese plant, Monstera deliciosa is putting out enormous new leaves.

Red salvias are attracting bees, while in the distance, the lemon yellow Shrimp plant Pacystachis lutea is blooming like mad.

In the frog pond, there are a couple of water lilies every night , thanks to my friend Helen's advice. I have planted the edible red Hongonne Alternanthera sessilis near it, which I use in my cooking.

The shadier part of my garden has white Peace lilys and pink anthuriums blooming among various shade loving foliage plants.

It is only when I go for my frequent trips that I miss my gardener, as there is no one to water the plants for a couple of days when I am away. So far, the weather has been kind with daily showers when Iwas away.

This is my contribution to My World and to Hot, Loud and Proud. My thanks to the team of My World, and to Noel for hosting these wonderful memes.

Today's Flowers

This is the white plumbago, called Chitrak locally. It is a wild flower native to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Its botanical name is Plumbago zeylanica. The plant is used in Ayurveda to treat high fever and stomach ailments.

The Impatiens prefers shade.

The blue Chinese Bells is a new addition to my garden. I brought it from Kerala.I hope it will do well here.

Poinsettias are bloomingeverywhere now, reminding us that Christmas is approaching.

This Common Asystasia has no season, nor any preference about light or shade. Since it is such an uncomplaining bloomer, I tend to ignore it.

You can see more flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com

Weekend Reflections- Islands in the Lake

The Banasura lake in Kerala has a large area. It is a natural lake with earthen embankments. There are many small islands in the lake where you can find butterflies.

My thanks to James for hosting Weekend Reflections. You can see images from all over the world at http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com

Blooming Friday- A Touch of White

White seems to be the predominant colour of the winter flowers. White Pentas look attractive with their dark green leaves.

The Hoya carnosa is twined round the trellis of my back verandah. It perfumes the garden at night. The flowers appear on older branches.

The Snake Jasmine has tiny white flowers with pink markings. Its root is used as an antidote for snake venom.

Crinum lilies have no season- they bloom whenever they feel like it.

White egrets have again come to the village pond.

My thanks to Katarina of Roses and Stuff for her charming meme.

Skywatch Friday

A village church.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

Watery Wednesday- Jungle Stream

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy who hosts Watery Wednesday. You can see more picturs at http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com

My World- Coffee

The coffee plant was brought to India in the 13th century by the Arab Sufi saint Baba Budan. He planted it near the cave in the Western Ghats, where he meditated. Now there are coffee plantations all along the Wester Ghats.

The coffee gardens are eco- friendly places, where other native plants also thrive whereas the tea gardens are unfriendly, monoculture plantations.

In this season, te coffee berries are still green. Whan they ripen, they are plucked by hand, dried and roasted, before being powdered.

Coffee is the preferred beverage of South Indians, while tea is that of North Indians. When I go for my early morning walk, I enjoy the invigorating smell of fresh coffee being brewed in all the homes on my way.

Thanks to the team of My World at http://showyourworld.blogspot.com

Strong!

The spider is a strong creature- I knew this fact. I had not realised how strong it was until I saw the branch of the Thunbergia vine being bent and used as a support by my resident Tiger Spider this afternoon. If you click on the photo, you can see the thin strands of the spider's web which have bent the branch by 90 degrees.

The Tiger Spider Poecilotheria regalis is a native of India and SriLanka. It weaves its web in tree canopies, and lies in wait for passing insects. It has distinctive tiger markings on its body and legs. In my garden, it has woven a web between the Amla tree with the Thunbergia vine, and the Sandalwood tree.

To see more pictures on the theme "Strong", please visit http://www.everydaylifeatw.com

Flowers of Wayanad

There was this cream coloured Allamanda in our hotel in Wayanad, which is quite unusual.

The Honeysuckle creeper was full of flowers.

The hydrangia bunches were huge and blue.

The Cane Begonia was already in flower. All these 'tame ' flowers paled in comparison to the large blue flowers of the Barleria courtallica which I found in a jungle path.

This barleria flowers once in 10 years! We were lucky to see the beautiful flowers in the jungle. The flowers and the plant of this barleria are used in Ayurveda medicine and also in Siddha medicine. It is only found in certain pockets in the jungle.

To view more flower pictures, please go to http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com

Weekend Reflections- Spoil Sport

The washed -out match.
My thanks to James at http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com You can see more weekend reflections there.

Skywatch Friday- The Retreating Monsoon

This year, the retreating monsoon has been very active. I hope the coffee gardens and the forests benefit by it.
I thank the team of Skywatch Friday for their wonderful meme. To see more skies, please go to
http://skyley.blogspot.com

Watery Wednesday- Waters of Wayanad

The Banasura Lake in Wayanad is a natural lake , bordered on one side with tropical rain forests and on the other side with the coconut and coffee gardens.

The calm, peaceful waters of the lake brings joy to the beholder.

This is my contribution to Watery Wednesday.

My World- the Many Storied Gardens of Kerala

Last weekend, we had gone to Wayanad in Kerala, our neighbouring state. Tha land in Wayanad is undulating, and the peoplehave made the best use of it. The gardens of Kerala are many storied. In the lowermost storey hugging the ground, grow Centella and other herbs. Above that are the gingers and turmeric. Coffee is planted between the ginger plants.

The tall rubber trees give shade to the garden, as well as provide the rubber latex. You can see the grooves cut on the rubber tree for the latex to flow down. The latex is collected in coconut shells .

At the borders of the garden are planted banana trees, which hold the soil, and provide fruit to the gardener.

Coffee gardens have other shade giving trees such as rosewood and arecanut.

Cottages are surrounded by coconut and arecanut palms, round which pepper, the king of spices, is made to twine.

People of Kerala have been growing and exporting pepper sice thousands of years. Columbus discovered America when he sailed to find the sea route to this land of spices.

My thanks to the team of That's My World. You can see posts from all over the world at http://showyourworld.blogspot.com

Gardenblogger's Bloom Day November 2010

Pelargoniums have such cheerful colours. These were bought recently, and I don't know if they will last in the rain.

This vinca is pretty rose red.

My faithful plumbago is bringing out its sky blue flowers. This is a very easy plant to grow. When it has finished blooming, I cut it down very short, and feed it with cow manure and water. It flowers throughout the year.

The Crinum lily is also non- fussy. It suddenly puts out a long stalk with frarant white blooms with pink stripes, any time of the year.

Weekend Reflections

The lake in the desert is calm and peaceful.
For more reflections, visit James at http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com

Friday's Flowers

We don't get snow in the tropics in winter, but many of the flowers that bloom now are white. The Vinca above has pink centres.

The Psederanthemum reticulatum , which is called Gokarna Jasmine locally, is also white with pink spots.

The Rasna flowers are a pale pink. They belong to the ginger family.

This is the Snake Jasmine which is blooming profusely now in my garden. This flower is endemic to the Western Ghats.

My thanks to Tootsie at Tootsie Time for hosting Fertilizer Friday.

Watery Wednesday

Three days' incessant rain has left the garden in shambles. The birds and the butterflies are hiding somewher.

Raindrops on the Spider's web makes it glitter in the feeble light.

Water droplets linger on grass flowers like glass beads.

I hope we'll see the sun today.