My Sunny Balcony

Hi all,

Been quite a while since i blogged as i was narrowing down on what to write about. And just in time, I realized that its been long since i posted any updates about my garden. So, here it is. Hope all of you enjoy reading about my little green space.

The Southeast corner which receives sun all day :) This has all the sun loving & fruiting plants

This 4ft x 9ft space is without doubt my favorite place in my home. I love being here, tending to the plants, seeing whats new and enjoy playing hide and seek during harvest time. I have a humble 30-35 pots and planters of various sizes in this space ranging from vegetable plants, fruit plants to ornamental plants. Every morning, I enjoy seeing whats new with each plant, talking to them and just being with them. Today morning for some reason, I felt all the plants were so happy and beautiful than ever. Its so nice to see life in this little space and gives me immense joy to be able to grow something.

Of late, with more experience in understanding the growth process and pests, i have become more aware of what i should be expecting in growing vegetables. I practice companion planting to help keep the pests away and keep moving around the planters so each of them get a fair share of the sunlight in my south east facing balcony. Currently I have tomatoes, Italian basil, lemon basil, radishes, mint, beans, greens (Spinach, Amaranth, chukke, hongone), strawberry, papaya, pomogranate, onions, colocasia, borage, lemon, hibiscus, rose, tube rose, jasmine, green chillies and malabar spinach. Letting the pictures speak.

Bush Beans

Lemons

Aromatic Tube rose

Factory of radishes, mint,curry leaves and beans

Marigolds

This little green space has taught me so many lessons for life. Lessons on how to accept and appreciate, lessons on how to rise after a pest attack and lessons on patience and determination. I could go on and on about positive influences of growing food on me, however i will just summarize it saying that is it truly a SOUL-SATISFYING MEDITATIVE experience.

Italian Basil

Chukke Soppu in Kannada

Recently was blessed with a bountiful harvest of spinach. To think spinach seeds were strewn around in all the containers just to create a soil cover is quite overwhelming when i see the harvest picture. Really the highlight of this harvest was that it could feed my family of 4 for both lunch and dinner. Self sufficiency in growing what you eat is a dream come true, even if it is for a single day :) 

Spinach harvest

I wish I inspire myself and set higher bars to reach in making this dream of self sufficiency, a reality, every single day. Hope you all enjoyed the virtual visit to the garden. Of course, i have not posted all the plant pictures, as it would be too much of detailing. However, i wish some of you are inspired by these to grow your own food too, it is one of the most gratifying things you could do to yourself.

Signing off!
Vasu

Daddy's sweet cupcake

Hope you all had a great start to the new year.

Golden Rays!

I had a nice and relaxing start to the new year with a beach vacation along with my family. It was wonderful to immerse myself at the feet of all that magnanimity and wealth of the sea and go into a self introspection mode. Being a beach on the west coast, we could catch the sunset clearly. It was a spiritual experience to watch the sun go down as the day ended. It was calming for the body, mind and soul. And made me get back to the routine with better faith and hope. True. Sea does wonders to one's mind.

The soulful experience of watching the sun go down!

 Our little one had a great time playing in the beach sand, making castles, collecting shells and shrieking each time a wave swept her feet :) For us, the parents, it was surprising that she was mostly on her own, playing all by herself, only sometimes needing our help to assist her. She even remembers all the names of the places we visited! and we were shocked too at how fast this tiny little thing is growing up. She is so curious to learn, explore and understand and we are just afraid that she will grow up sooner than we expected her to!!

Colorful shells we grabbed!

One of the highlights of this vacation to me was seeing a beautiful daddy-daughter bond. I am sure  most of you agree if i claimed, daddy is always a daughter's first hero! :) Made me think of my father and the fun times with him. I called him up and spoke to him just to feel connected. 

A picture that speaks a 1000 words :)

The pic above, to me, is a precious one, for the daddy is taking the little one to explore the unknown waters of the sea. Why does he do it? What fun does he get in letting his little one explore life this way? As i ask myself these questions, it strikes to me that he is holding her hand and not letting her go and explore all by herself, just to make her feel secure. At each step in life, we encounter such unknown waters and we have to explore them to feel accomplished. The daddy wants the little one to experience joy the way he felt when he encountered unknown waters and mould her into a beautiful and confident girl who would rise to occasions and create a beautiful life for herself.

Cheers to all the wonderful daddies and daughter's out there! :)