Not Interested in Gardening? Must read for you then!

I came home during COVID-19 lock down and I had to work (unwillingly 😆) in my Father’s Garden and here are the things that I learned and enjoyed.

All the images shared are from our Garden only. Images might take longer to load but it is worth the wait.

Contents

1. Things to keep in Mind
2. Flowers (फूल)
3. Fruits (फल) and Vegetables (सब्जियां)

Things to keep in Mind

The most important thing is your garden needs you daily. We spend ~2 hours daily so that the Garden looks alive and has a peaceful aura around it. Time taken also depends on the spread of your Garden.

There are two kinds of plants that we usually put in our Garden.

1. All Year/Season plants : These are the plants which will be there all year and if maintained will grow and bloom for years. Like rose (गुलाब), hibiscus (ओरहुल), mango (आम) plant etc. Some of these will give fruits/flowers throughout the year like hibiscus (ओरहुल) and some will only give fruits/flowers in some season like Mangoes (आम).
2. Seasonal plants : These are the plants which will only be alive for couple of months, bloom and die. However you will need to preserve the seeds for the next season/year to plant again. These will bloom throughout their lifespan. Example marigold (गेंदा) plant.

So you need to choose wisely the combination of both kinds of plants based on the size of the Garden you have.

Three stages of a flower:

1. A bud
2. Full Bloomed Flower
3. Petals of Flower start dying

As soon as you notice the flower is nearing third stage, the ideal thing is to use a scissor and cut the stem just below the flower and remove it. This will allow the new buds to come immediately. If you don’t remove the dying flower then new buds will take forever to come out and your garden might not look alive as there will be a lot of dying flowers.

Some plants need lots of water whereas some plants just needs sprinkle. You can get this data based on your experience or from internet.

Keep removing extra weed (grass like plants which encircles your main plant) from side.

Don’t put any two plants very close otherwise roots of one plant will not allow the other to grow.

Main Season for us: October to March but extends to April if kept in closed space. I stay in Dighwara (Bihar) and here summer starts from May and many of these plants cannot survive in that hot environment. However if you stay in cold place it is a different story.

Flowers (फूल)

We have around 20 kinds of Flowers. But I will walk you through some of the famous and attractive ones:

1. Rose (गुलाब)
2. Hibiscus (ओरहुल)
3. Marigold (गेंदा)
4. Petunia
5. Dog Flower
6. Pansy
7. Chrysanthemum (गुलदाउदी)
8. Croton
9. Cabbage Flower
10. Dahlia, Bougainvillea, Salvia, etc..

Rose (गुलाब)

There are 6 colors of rose that are planted here. Pink, Red, White, Pink (on sides) and Yellow (in between), Dark red, Dark red with Yellow pattern.

Rose cannot be allowed to grow big. It requires timely trimming.

Hibiscus (ओरहुल)

Hibiscus blossoms all year long and is primarily used for worshiping. We have planted 4 different colors of hibiscus. Yellow, Orange, Red, Pink.

Marigold (गेंदा)

This is a seasonal plant and come in various sizes. Adds a lot to the beauty of your Garden.

You can add these as many as you wants. The seed are prepared from the dried flower petals.

Petunia

These beautiful flowers are small seasonal plants and comes in lots of color and pattern.

Dog Flower

Chrysanthemum (गुलदाउदी)

Croton

This plant will be there for years and has leaves that are in various colors and patterns.

Pansy

One of my favorite as it has a cat like face and I love cats.

Cabbage Flower

This flower looks like cabbage but is not actually cabbage.

Dahlia, Bougainvillea, Salvia, etc..

Fruits (फल) and Vegetables (सब्जियां)

1. Banana (केला)
2. Mango (आम)
3. Brinjal (बैंगन)
4. Calabash (लौकी)
5. Tomato (टमाटर)
6. Grapes (अंगूर)

Banana (केला)

Don’t get confused. This is not the same banana we eat as fruit. This is cooked as a vegetable. Banana leaves used (sometimes) for eating food or for Puja.

Mango (आम)

Who doesn’t knows and loves mangoes. But it is a lot fun if you have couple of trees in your backyard.

These are hardly 1–2 cms long as of now and have just started to come out in millions. It will be ready by May end. You can eat it as a fruit or use it for pickles.

Brinjal (बैंगन) and Calabash (लौकी)

Brinjal plants are seasonal and the organic taste is completely different from the market.

Calabash plants can be planted all year long but the life span is ~3 months. They are creepers and need external support. This particular calabash is around 500 grams as of now but it will grow to ~2 KGs and will be completely round like a football.

Tomato (टमाटर)

Tomato are small plants which require support from top so that plant is not lying on the floor.

These are still green and will take couple of more weeks to grow. It can be planted all year long but lifespan of a plant is three months.

Grapes (अंगूर)

This plant is a creeper and has been there for last 55 years (long before I was born). As you can see, the fruits have just started to come out. These are black grapes which will taste sour and sweet.

This is just a glimpse. Stay tuned for more details in coming blogs.

There are many more flowers, plants and trees like Guava (अमरूद), Lychee (लीची), Indian gooseberry (आवला), Lady finger (भिन्डी), Green Chilli (हरी मिर्च), Broccoli, Cucumber (खीरा), Lemon (नींबू), etc… here which I could not mention as they bloom in different season. This Garden is result of my Father’s devotion and hard work. His name is Dr. Arbind Kumar, a Businessman and Professor (Ph.D in Physics). If anyone needs any suggestion from him or has any advice, do comment.