"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."
~ Audrey Hepburn
The balcony garden is shaping up well, albeit a little haphazard. Courtesy our regular visits to the nearest plant nursery, we've already choked half of the balcony with colourful tropical crotons. It was time we brought some hardy flowers to accompany the hibiscus and the rose, both of which, in the most conniving fashion, have morphed into show plants for sometime now. And so came along the red crown of thorns, and a riotous mix of orange and pink bougainvilleas. Now we have winged visitors inspecting the new additions all day - sometimes a lost butterfly flutters from pot to pot checking the traces of nectar, but the more regular ones are the thirsty pigeons who love to draw a sip or two from the muddy waters accumulated in the pot trays. Though I leave a bowl of clean water for them, earthiness is clearly their preference.
Then came the rains one day, a typical mid-summer downpour, much to everyone's relief. The patchy, dust-clad crotons celebrated the most perhaps, the fat drops washing the city's muck off their kaleidoscopic leaves. Who doesn't like to show a spot of true colour, eh?! The balcony soon became a palimpsest of colours - yellow, maroon, green, white.
Indoors, it's my new bamboo that draws all the eyes these days. Come evening, when the lamps are lit, the Buddha candle holder sitting next to it casts an enchanting shadow on the wall behind. As if Buddha himself has come to life! Serenaded by his composed figure looming large in the illuminated corner of the living room, life feels blessed. Surely, not a lot in the world that these small joys can't cure.
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~ Audrey Hepburn
The balcony garden is shaping up well, albeit a little haphazard. Courtesy our regular visits to the nearest plant nursery, we've already choked half of the balcony with colourful tropical crotons. It was time we brought some hardy flowers to accompany the hibiscus and the rose, both of which, in the most conniving fashion, have morphed into show plants for sometime now. And so came along the red crown of thorns, and a riotous mix of orange and pink bougainvilleas. Now we have winged visitors inspecting the new additions all day - sometimes a lost butterfly flutters from pot to pot checking the traces of nectar, but the more regular ones are the thirsty pigeons who love to draw a sip or two from the muddy waters accumulated in the pot trays. Though I leave a bowl of clean water for them, earthiness is clearly their preference.
Then came the rains one day, a typical mid-summer downpour, much to everyone's relief. The patchy, dust-clad crotons celebrated the most perhaps, the fat drops washing the city's muck off their kaleidoscopic leaves. Who doesn't like to show a spot of true colour, eh?! The balcony soon became a palimpsest of colours - yellow, maroon, green, white.
Indoors, it's my new bamboo that draws all the eyes these days. Come evening, when the lamps are lit, the Buddha candle holder sitting next to it casts an enchanting shadow on the wall behind. As if Buddha himself has come to life! Serenaded by his composed figure looming large in the illuminated corner of the living room, life feels blessed. Surely, not a lot in the world that these small joys can't cure.
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I think that a balcony full of colour would be a glorious thing. You must have been so happy for the rain. Rain in the city doesn't smell like rain in the country. Rain here smells of cedar and mulched paths. I remember that a city rain smelled like dust, for a bit, and then so wonderfully clean, in the absence of any smell at all.
ReplyDeleteDid that make any sense?
Agree agree! That's what it is like - first the dusty, earthy smell which is soon replaced by nothing at all. About the cedar and pine fragrance, tell me about it!
ReplyDeleteFlowers, plants and animals can change a life!! We need them. I love hibiscus, roses, bougainvillea. So colourful. And the bamboo matches the Buddha candle holder! I like them too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for appreciating the post, Celine. And I know you like that candle holder! ;-)
DeleteHello Suman
ReplyDeleteI love the shadow of the budha and like you say it looks like it has come alive. How kind of you to leave water for the birds. Butterflies always delight
Helen xx
Absolutely agree with you Helen; butterflies are always the harbingers of joy. It's the peak of summer and many birds die of thirst in this scorching heat; so yes, I just do my bit. :-)
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