I started keeping a facebook photo diary on my terrace garden in Delhi. As I share happenings in my garden, Facebook also keeps showing some memories long forgotten, and I wander reminiscing. Experiencing all over again the feel of each and every plant; the excitement of the first sprout, first flower, first gourd flower turning to fruit; taste of home grown veggies; mystery of unknown plants cropping up.
My garden in NYC started with a Mogra plant. I had a habit of wandering in the neighbourhoods on my way home instead of taking the subway near my university. One summer walking home from the medical campus I was pleasantly surprised, shocked, overwhelmed to see a mogra plant in a small shop selling garden supplies somewhere in Washington heights. Mogra is my soul flower. It was like a call from home. So I bought it for $14.99. An exhorbitant price at that time. For comparison, my eating out/pampering myself budget was $5/month.
That started me off on my journey of window boxes in the 1 room I shared with Selen. One room meant, 2 windows, 1 with a heating coil under it so effectively just one window. When Parag moved to NYC and we moved into a 1BR apartment. Suddenly there were 4 viable windows beckoning me. Unfortunately, as we moved in the dead of winter in January, in spite of all the wrapping and blankets, the first Mogra didn’t survive the move.
In spring, I experimented with daisies, asters. Mums in fall. With plants at home the empty squares on the sidewalk beckoned me and I started putting in seedlings wherever I found place. Everybody stared, finally a well meaning granny pointed out that I was digging in nasty stuff that should be left unturned. haha. Don’t remember how many of those sapplings took root, but that activity gave me a better eye for wild plants, flowers, generally flora and fauna. I suddenly started seeing many more minute details, the little critters, new life after the first thaw, changing textures and colours.
The NB apartment was the epitome of luxury after the cramped NYC apartments. We had a longish balcony, an actual open space attached to the house. Plenty of space and height for the indoor plant we inherited from Perien while we were in NYC. All the plants moved with us from NYC, and moved again to PVD, finally in their own space to expand rather than the cramped window boxes.
Providence garden finally provided the space for experimenting on a larger scale. Growing vegetables, trying out different seasonal plants etc but what I remember the most is the first spring and the entire summer after that. As the ground thawed, we saw various flowers and sprouts coming up one after the other. Some places like the corners next to the steps, obviously had some plants in hybernation but I did not expect the surprises popping up everywhere as the temperature increased. Grape hycinth, white grass lily, to bearded iris and black eyed susans. All an enigma.
Each and every garden was a salve for the soul. A link to the distant home, warmth and sign of life in the dead of winter, and as we grew with each other, a way to find home in the new places.
devayani tirthali 