Vanilla Pods

It is a good sight to see the vanilla pods hanging in the garden where fifty percent of the flowers were successfully pollinated. Now we wait for them to dry so that we can use them to extract the vanilla.

Here is another picture, clicked more than a month ago where you can see the flowers blooming, ready to be pollinated. The dry flowers still clinging on, shows that they have been successfully pollinated.

The bottle you see is from nuttie artzz. It looks better at night when the lights come up inside the bottle.  This season the yield of drumstick was pretty good. One of the regular visitors is the purple sunbird who goes in for the nectar from the Moringa (drumstick) flower.

The Ashy Prinia prefers to hang around or maybe even hang on the Moringa. No threat to my Moringas as the bird weighs only about 7 to 10 gms.  (Google facts)

Instead of throwing away the Mosami (sweet lime) seeds, I tried germinating them.  Most of the seeds sprouted which I planted in this pot.

As they grew I saw some designer leaves and found out who was responsible for it.

Clicking flowers against the sunlight makes the picture pop up.

I think the sunflowers also wait for the sun to rise.

As I was clicking the Begonia, this bee wanted to make a guest appearance.

The tomatoes came at the right time considering the upward trend of the price.

Nothing like some homegrown spices. Uprooted this lot from the 1ft x 2ft rectangular pot and got 1.4 kg turmeric. Now to dry and grind them for some organic turmeric powder.

The bulbs (roots) are saved for replanting in the next season.

The chiilies are just growing and hope to get a good yield after repotting.

The brinjals (aubergine) that came up this time is of a different variety.

Garden after rains

 Keeping a watch on the passion fruit. Waiting for them to turn yellow so that I can pluck them before they fall off 

These vines last for about seven years. They require strong trellis as the fruit tends to be slightly heavy. Plucked these tomatoes which went into the tomato soup. These are not the regular variety and they have that extra tanginess. No wonder the soup tasted yummy.  

The unusual rains kept most of the plants green and the mint leaves look good enough to go into a curry. Maybe we may make pudina chutney (mint chutney) one of these days.  

The sun does shine bright when there is a respite from the rains, and the butterfly thinks it is better to bask on the turmeric plant.  (I wonder if that yellow guy is a butterfly or a moth)

Got a good crop of Tendli (Ivy Gourd) and it was enough for one curry. 

It is said that Tendli has been used by Ayurveda to treat diabetes due to its ability to increase glucose tolerance and lower blood sugar levels. 

For my photography gear, I had made a light stand with 3/4" PVC pipe which was lightweight and portable. Later I realised that it was not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the light especially when I increased the height to six feet and above. So I decided to make a new one with 1" pipe (which I hope should be sturdy)

Instead of throwing away the old stand, I redesigned it to make it into a stand to hold our orchid baskets. 

Talking of flowers, last month these Brahmakamal (Star of Bethlehem) decided to bloom at midnight as they stay bloomed for only one night. 

What a sight. There were four of them 

Sunlight and vegetables

Nothing like seeing the morning sunlight filtering in through the green foliage when you are having your morning cup of tea. 

This is the first time that we are trying the Red Cabbage in our garden.  They are blooming well along with the normal cabbage.  We may have to wait another 3 months to pluck them.  

We found that these Grow Bags are better than normal conventional pots and it is cost effective too.

The Radish too are coming up well and it is about time to pluck them for our next salad. I wonder why they are always peeping out of the soil. 

It may take another day or two for the lettuce leaves to join the radish in the salad 

Daily morning I see one or two of these yellow flowers fully bloomed waiting for the bees. They fall off by evening. These flowers are from the sponge gourd creeper.. 

The decorative flowers are managing to hold on in one corner.

Looks like the green chillies are going to be surplus this year too. Last year there was continuous growth for six months. 

But what has got me really excited is the sight of these bunch of flowers that has come up on our Vanilla creeper. Its flowered after a gap of 2 years. 

Five years ago I had written in detail about the flowering cycle and the artificial pollination that one has to do for the Vanilla.

In a bunch, one or two flowers bloom in a day. They have to be artificially pollinated before noon. The ideal time is 9 to 10 am (they slowly close up as the sun gets hotter) If the flowers are successfully pollinated, they dry up but hold on to the stem. These stem (stalk) behind the flower grow thicker and ultimately becomes the Vanilla pods. In my attempt to pollinate, I see about 30% success this year. It requires patience and practice.  

The regular tomatoes are coming up well with the perfect round shape, but the cherry tomatoes are a peculiar variety. Never seen these oval shaped ones before. 

The mint leaves have got its perfect green sheen. I always put in a mint leaf along with a blade of lemon grass (cut into small pieces) in my morning tea.  Apart from its medicinal benefits, the aroma is very pleasing.  

A twig of the mint went into the decoration of the flan that we had yesterday. 

  

Keukenhof II

Within Keukenhof garden there is a small farm house. A good way to get children (and adults) familiar with the farm animals. The animals are very docile and don’t mind the kids petting them. In fact the zoo itself is called “petting zoo”

A glimpse of the Dutch Cheese over here - and you can buy them too.

Some artistic arrangements with the same theme. An used tyre from one of the farms as the flower pot.

We have a pair of clogs and it has found its place in our  loft, but now after wifey sees this flower arrangement I know that pair is going to see the daylight (in our garden)

In fact its how you place the flowers and where you place them that makes the difference.

OK, as it is Keukenhof, it is time for you to see some flowers:

I like these tricycles placed at strategic places for the sale of the ice cream.

Landscaping is an art and I was fortunate enough to get some good photographs of them as I happened to be at this part of the garden in the evening which created those long shadows:

OK its time for some more flowers:

I grabbed a bite from the cafeteria and proceeded with the exploring. I should not call it a cafeteria as it was a full-fledged eating place, better than a high class restaurant.

At the entrance of Orange Nassau there is a huge Classified list and international register of Tulip names. I clicked this picture at an angle by which the names look tiny but the Indian Actress Aishwarya’s name is on the top line (its alphabetically listed)

Those who are interested in the history of the flower, there is the Historical Garden 

For those who are not interested in smelling the flowers – a chess board to while away the time – king size.

Time for more flowers:

Tulipa 'Roze Leen'

Tulipa 'Yellow springgreen'

I think all are getting an overdose of flowers . . . .  . . . so we continue in the next post - Keukenhof part 3 

 The earlier post had a mention about the Windmill at Keukenhof.