Sunday, February 5, 2012

Flowers or vegetables ?


There is a flower show cum sale going on in town and wifey was very keen that we should visit and buy some flowering plants for our terrace garden.
Me: “But what about all the flowers that you already have on the terrace?”
Wifey: “Oh they all look so dull now, look at our Anthurium it’s a very pale pink, I want one in blood red colour”


Me: “Look at the corner of our terrace, you can see some red flowers”

Wifey : “They are some plain poinsettias and they are seasonal, so after some months those leaves loose their colour”
Me : “What about those tiny red  buds next to the pointsettia?”

Wifey: “Its poinsettias not pointsettia. And those are not buds, they are red chilies. Keep away from them, they may look small, but they are real hot and pungent”
Me : “And what are these green leaves?”

Wifey: “These are palak (spinach) one of the healthiest vegetables. 100 gms of farm fresh leaves contain 47% of the daily requirement of vitamin C, apart from minerals like potassium manganese, magnesium, copper and zinc”
Me: “All these in this green leaf?”
Wifey: “Remember Popeye the sailor and his appetite for Spinach. It is also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids”
Me: “So much for Spinach. What is that wrinkled fruit hanging there?”

Wifey: ”That is Karela (bitter gourd) and it is a vegetable not a fruit"
Me: “Oh yes I know bitter gourd juice, once my mother tried to make me drink it and I just vanished from the scene only to return at sunset”
Wifey: “Best home remedy for Diabetics, Liver problem and Arthritis”
Me: ”Hey I know this one . . . .  its Pudina right? We use it for garnishing pork roast”

Wifey: “You only think of pork roast and pork chops. Do you know Pudina (Mint) is part of Greek mythology and according to legend - "Menthe" originally a nymph, and Pluto's lover angered Pluto's wife, Persephone, who in a fit of rage turned Minthe into a lowly plant, to be trod upon. Pluto, unable to undo the spell, was able to soften it by giving Minthe a sweet scent, which would perfume the air when her leaves were stepped on - thus aromatic herb Mint”

Me: “My my all these leaves and so many stories”
Wifey: “Yes and here is another good one for health – Celery

The organic alkaline minerals in celery juice has a calming effect on the nervous system, making it a wonderful drink for insomniacs. It is also said that the diuretic effect of celery juice also aids the breaking and elimination of urinary and gall bladder stones”
By now I was sure that she would forget all about flowers and the flower show when she blurted out “ but look at these flowers, they don’t look appealing any more. I think we should replace them with the fresh new flowers that we are going to buy”

Me: "This is a lovely flower, isn't this supposed to be in paradise, I mean the bird that comes to paradise?"


Wifey: "This is not the birds of paradise that you are thinking of.  Remember we saw it outside the hotel we stayed in Cochin last year. I got a  sapling from there and it flowered almost after an year" 
Me : “Quickly, tell me, what is this?”

Wifey: “Oh this is  Geranium”
Me : and this ?

Wifey: "Capsicum"
Me: "and this ?"


Wifey: "that's Asther"
Me : "And look at these tomatoes, today they are green but soon they will turn bright red and you will have more red in the garden"

Me: “I like that bhopla (pumpkin) creeper going up. So you see we have got such a nice and healthy kitchen garden. Why do you want to replace them with some funny looking flowers and…….”


Wifey: “We will not replace them, we will buy more pots and then we will have more greenery. Don’t you like to look at the birds and the bees?”
Me: “But we already have the birds visiting us in the mornings”



Me : “and as for the bees I did get a good close up of one while he was busy working on a flower”

Wifey: “See I told you. So now you are convinced that more flowers bring in more birds and bees. That brings us to the topic of the flower show. Shall we go this evening?”   

67 comments:

Ava said...

Lovely!

Bikram said...

wowow I must say you have some lovely plants , if only the weather was kind here in uk I would have loved to plant some of these ...

Wow the bee looks beautiful ..
did you vistit the show them , what did you buy ...

Bikram's

hamaarethoughts.com said...

lovely essay ..
love that garden n plants ..so green n fresh ...birds chirping ..bees visiting every flower...
hmmmmm
gr8!
get some more ..Go GREEN :)

A said...

haha. hope she found the plant she wanted :-)

Connie said...

Haha! I think she wins this round. :-)

I enjoyed the tour of your plants. You have quite a wonderful variety. I have been reading recently about how spinach is so healthy for us to eat, and I've been trying to eat more spinach salads. I hope you found some pretty red flowers for your lovely wife. :)

anilkurup59 said...

Good photos with wonderful clarity. And the bees are fascinating color print.

Sandhya said...

Your explanation of each and every plant is beautiful and your garden looks rich. I can understand why bees and birds visit them. Loved the birds' and bee's pictures!

Cezar and Léia said...

Very interesting post!The pictures are beautiful, your plants and flowers are all very special!
Léia

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

Beautiful photos. Love the bee shot.

geetlee said...

That's a full vegetable and flower garden you have. Gardening is an art, i would love to try it out myself someday.

Anu said...

Thanks for visiting my blog!
Wow! You have so many green plants and flowers?? They look absolutely gorgeous! You should go with what your wife says! More flowers and plants!

Gauri Gharpure said...

Absolutely witty and informative pictorial narrative. This one's a winner, Mr. Haddock :)

Ugich Konitari said...

What a wonderful inspirational post ! Loved your way of explaining the interesting properties of various plants.

So what new flower plants did you get ? :-))

anatreek said...

Hey..nice post..I didn't know anyone of those plants :D

Lowell said...

Birds and bees remind your dear wife of a flower show? You have work to do, my friend! ;-))

Funny post and excellent photos! Can't believe the variety of plants. We gave up on trying to grow plants 'cause they took so much work, like having to be watered. So then we tried fake plants. We gave up on those too 'cause they took so much work, like having to be dusted.

Now we just enjoy our neighbor's plants and have no work to do at all!

:-)

Jeanne said...

Such a charmning post and really great photos of all the flowers and plants. Also really nice capture of the "birds and the bees". Thank you also for stopping by my blog. Best wishes from Texas! Jeanne

Haddock said...

Thanks Ava

Haddock said...

That is one of the blessings here in India Bikramjit, lots of sunshine and rain.

Thanks Harman, We plan to go (grow) more green.

Haddock said...

Spinach is really healthy Daisy, and so are many of the other greens.

Haddock said...

Thanks Anil. The bee sat still for two seconds !!

Haddock said...

Had to do some reading on Google for that Sandhya. The birds are the regulars in the morning and if it is not watered by then, they register their loud protest and move ahead.

Haddock said...

Thanks Cezar and Leia :-)

Haddock said...

Thanks secret mom

Haddock said...

You can try it geetlee. Its really therapeutic.

Haddock said...

You are right Vaish, I finally had to go with what wifey said.

Haddock said...

Hi Gauri, thanks. Seeing you after a long time.

Haddock said...

Good to know that you enjoyed it. We did get new flowers, but the names, well you will have to ask wifey.

Haddock said...

Hi Ana, good to know that you enjoyed. I too did not know half of them.

Haddock said...

Got your point Lowell.
But all said and done, I cannot stand artificial plants.

Haddock said...

Thanks Jeanne. I am sure the climate is conducive in Texas for kitchen gardens.

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

hi Haddock ...

Blogger isnt letting me post my own comment, and hence am commenting as a reply ...

You can never win an argument with your wife, can you ?

And, your wife actually grows capsicum ? Awesoem ... never been able to ... I used have Anthuriums a long time ago .. love them .. they grow with hardly any effort from our side ... same with the chinese bamboo and money plants ... these days, i am trying to grow methi .. sadly, they die due to their own stem weight after giving rise to abt 1/2 leaves :(

Its been fun reading this post !

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

hi Haddock ...

Blogger isnt letting me post my own comment, and hence am commenting as a reply ...

You can never win an argument with your wife, can you ?

And, your wife actually grows capsicum ? Awesoem ... never been able to ... I used have Anthuriums a long time ago .. love them .. they grow with hardly any effort from our side ... same with the chinese bamboo and money plants ... these days, i am trying to grow methi .. sadly, they die due to their own stem weight after giving rise to abt 1/2 leaves :(

Its been fun reading this post !

Haddock said...

Agree on that argument part, but then its for a good cause, so I give in. We did have capsicums earlier also.
By the way Deepa, I did see two comments from you, one independant and one as a reply.

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom said...

Such fun dialogue. I felt like I was right there :0) I love the pictures, too :0)

Fresh Local and Best said...

What a fun conversation. It sounds like you guys have some great ideas for gardening this year.

Gill - That British Woman said...

love that post such an informative read as well. Great bird shots.

Gill in Canada

his_girl_friday said...

Sometimes a girl wants a blood red flower!

Harshad Mehta said...

Very educative conversation here. Thanks.

RamNarayanS said...

That was indeed an endearing and lovely conversation Haddock. That 'is' a home garden that you have. :-)

Debra said...

You wife has a very beautiful garden! Thanks for stopping by my blog today! You take very lovely photos!

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Lovely photos.You have a lovely garden.I gathered so much information from this post.

Have a nice day,
Joseph

Haddock said...

Thats the idea Elisabeth, to make everybody take part in the conversation :-)

Haddock said...

Yep, and more pots are going to be added :-)

Haddock said...

Did spend some time collecting those information. Birds are my fav, but they never sit still.

Haddock said...

yeah..... and Valentine's day is not far off....

Haddock said...

Good to that you enjoyed it Harshad.

Haddock said...

Good to know that you enjoyed the conversation. Trying to make the garden more colourful.

Indrani said...

Great captures. A joy to see!

Haddock said...

Thanks and most welcome Debra.

Haddock said...

Thanks Joseph. I too learned a lot while writing this.

Haddock said...

Thanks Indrani, added some pics of Tomatoes.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Cute post and a typical husband/wife discussion....Your wife obviously loves her garden and wants to keep it looking pretty year 'round... We are constantly adding and getting rid of flowers in our garden.. That's just the JOYS of gardening... Good Luck!!!!
Betsy

Reflections said...

Wow....ur terrace garden looks awesome and going by the questions u asked ur wife its obvious u had no hand in the growing & it's purely ur wife's effort and credit;-D

But I'm sure u took her to the garden show and got her more beautiful and colorful plants:-))

The pictures are beautiful and it's the 1st time I saw a capsicum plant;-).

Teté M. Jorge said...

Marvelous post!!! Loved the photos and comments.

Hugs and peace of mind.

Joanne said...

Haha such a fun post. I love how it came full circle in the end.

Haddock said...

Yes Betsy, it is getting prettier by the day and I am afraid there won't be any walking space left in the garden.

Haddock said...

You are right. I have no idea of what is going on , but I must say, the whole thing looks pretty.

Haddock said...

Glad you liked it teca, and thanks for following.

Haddock said...

Thanks Joanne. Most of the time we are always back to square one..... but that is life.

Dianne Montgomery Hocut said...

I have sooo much more success with flowers than vegetables... and, thanks so much for your comment on my blog!!

Haddock said...

Maybe that is the easy way out Dianne, tending to the vegetables needs more patience I suppose.

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

Sounds like you ended up going to a flower show. What fun! I love buying new flowers and I don't think you can ever have to much color, LOL. God Bless, Jackie

Haddock said...

Oh yes.... we did go.... in fact all along I knew that I would end up buying more saplings :-)

Kavi said...

Hey.. Haddock! :) New visitor and I don't know what took me so long to find your blog! After all, I live just 4 hrs away from Pune :P :D Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed browsing through your blog. I still got a lot more to see, but I thought I'd complement the author 1st. :D

Haddock said...

Most welcome KR and looks like there is something common here, cooking and baking (not exactly my dept. but wifey will be happy to exchange some notes on baking)
And yes 4hrs is no great distance :-)

Jyoti Mishra said...

such a lovely post it was..
If I'd shown this to my mom she'll go mad.

thanks 4 visiting me
lovely blog u have !!

radha said...

What a lovely garden and so well maintained, I think your wife deserved more plants.