Straying Into My Garden

My absence and lack of tinkering along with a generous dose of rain and sun seem to have done the garden a world of good. Things that lay dormant and hidden below the surface have suddenly sprung into life quite on their own. And what wonderful surprises lay in store for me when I returned!

Our chiku (sapota) tree, which has been flowering for six months has finally produced a small but definite fruit! And beneath it, grows a particularly healthy dandelion. Dandelions are always welcome in my garden for I would really like to use them in salads and tea (but never get sufficient amounts). They are considered indicators of harmony and health in a garden. I don't know if this is true, but I like their cheery flowers nodding at me and their wispy seeds blowing through my plants.

Also of its own accord, a robust looking tomato plant has ensconced itself in one of the pots. It produced three tomatoes, two of which were eaten by monkeys and one remains. Perhaps this will ripen and shed more seeds and I will have a tomato crop next year without doing anything!

The haldi (turmeric) rhizomes have sprouted and there will be a small harvest possible in the coming month. I am looking forward to this as fresh turmeric smells and tastes heavenly! Looks like they will need a bigger pot next year.

Bougainvillea provide vivid splashes of pink, in their rambling way. They are particularly striking for it is the in between season, when summer flowers have been shed and winter ones have not yet blossomed.

And yesterday, we saw our bryophyllum flowering - a wonderful sight that begins in the morning and is over by nightfall.

I began to get a sense that my garden had taken over in my absence, directing its own growth and budding and fruiting. As I was watching and marvelling at this phenomenon, a large butterfly swooped in and proceeded to settle itself on a tender leaf bed - it didn't seem to mind my presence, perhaps it knew that I too was a temporary visitor.