Apr 6, 2010

My Little Princess and the Boy

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Bush Tomato - Solanum lycopersicum)

(Edit: Added few photos that I forgot earlier)
While waiting impatiently for the 'Matoes to fruit, Groundcherries to ripe, Sugar Melon to grow, Passion flower and many other seeds to germinate, Allamanda to settle in its new home, and my Coco peat to arrive to repot the plants, there are two weeds that are growing vigorously. One was supposed to house eggplants and other, my cherished Strawberries.

As usual, Vasanta (Spring) gave me more surprises. This year it was the Groundcherries and these two others till now.

I was so ashamed that my Eggplants (Brinjals/Aubergines) didn't germinate. I thought they were the easiest. I guess it's because of the irregular watering.
(Purple Allamanda - Allamanda blanchetii >>)
I sometimes let the soil dry out and then water them. Of course, I sowed them again in two paper cups yesterday.

Anyways talking about the sans-Eggplant pot, it gave me a beautiful weed (or so I think) that looked pretty even without any blooms. The seedling looked like pretty princess with her gown spread about. Her leaves looked like a palm with the five fingers spread out.
Meanwhile the sans-Strawberry pot mocked me with a groundcover weed, not as pretty as the princess. His leaves painfully resembled a single strawberry leaf that was thicker - almost succulent.
The Princess at some point of time was almost killed due to her foster parent's carelessness. Sudden increase in temperature during the day and no watering in the evening made her wilt badly. The next morning she was found with her usually-erect spine slopped over the ground and her hands and fingers went limp. The careless parent fed her immediately some water and prayed that she wouldn't give up on him.

Luckily his prayers were answered and she came of age soon. Filled with modesty, she smiled shyly up at me with her first blossom. Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at my pretty girl.
I bent down closely to get a better look at her bloom and good lord! Did she look exquisite!
I fed her with more fertilizer and she began blooming profusely.
Meanwhile the boy was growing slowly but steadily, holding onto Mother Earth whenever he touched her, growing and spreading slightly faster. I wonder what land he comes from and what his lineage is...
Now, what is a Princess without her valor, you ask? Well, she would definitely pass for a Princess - not just another princess, but my little girl is a valorous one - a Warrior!
Yes, my dear friends, she's a Warrior. My little girl soon grew up to a fine woman who could wield a sword and brandish it when you threaten her!
I wish I knew what clan she belonged to. Which land does she come from? What is her royal name? Have you seen her royal relations anywhere? If so, kindly let me know, for a Queen deserves to be named properly, isn't it?
This is my entry for Words That Inspire - An April Challenge - a meme started by Noel, A Plant Fanatic Blog. Head over to his wonderful blog to read more.

21 comments:

Thomas said...

I had issues with eggplant this year as well. They took forever to germinate.

Oh, if you like broccoli, you should try the variety that I'm growing this year. It was specifically bred to be heat tolerate. Maybe it would work well for your region.

Noel Morata said...

aloha,

my seedlings were eaten by some very greedy snails that attack in the nights....sigh well maybe its time for step two buying the older starts....i wonder what your princess weed is also?

btw, thanks for visiting my quote meme, come and join me for next month?

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Nice to be at your blog again. I see that the template has changed!

Gail said...

You are a fabulous story teller! I love the imagery you create and how alive your flowers are~ gail

Anonymous said...

Dear Chandramouli, Although I am incapable of identifying your Royals, I have been so entertained, and amused, by this posting which I have thoroughly enjoyed. In my limited experience, on a serious note, I believe that all seedlings require regular watering and should not at any point be allowed to dry out. But, this information may be totally incorrect!!

Thank you so much for leaving a comment on my most recent posting through which I have, happily, discovered you and where I have replied to what you said. In order not to miss out on your postings I intend to add you as a 'Favourite' on Blotanical.

tina said...

I think eggplant is not too easy to germinate so don't worry about it. I keep thinking I know that yellow flower but can't get it out. Hmmm. I'll ponder it. Very pretty color.

D said...

Chandramouli, thank you for stopping by my blog and introducing yourself so that I might find your most enjoyable site.

After several weeks, half of my eggplant have finally germinated, so I'll be satisfied with those. They along with peppers seem to require a steady warmer temperature (the soil blocks are inside a plastic container and placed upon my heating pad and with medium heat). I was about to give up on hot peppers this year, but tried 'one more time' and happy I did so.

Chandramouli, it looks as though you have a green thumb and no problem with any other plants. ;)

walk2write said...

Chandramouli, I still can't figure out who your mystery Princess is, though she looks familiar. Gardening is such an on-the-one-hand-and-then-the-other activity, frustratingly so at times, but it does keep the old mind active and hope alive.

Chandramouli S said...

Thomas, that's reassuring. But my mom said eggplants (we call it Brinjal) were the easiest!
Hope I find the Broccoli soon. Thank you :)

Noel: Oh dear, sorry about the seedlings. Just now I read at Prue's Totally Inept Balcony Gardener that her Basil plant was eaten by snails. Sad to hear.
BTW, I enjoy your meme's. I'm sure to join future ones too.

Raji: Glad you like it :) Thank you.

Gail: Thank you, Gail. I try :)

Edith Hope: You're right about not letting the seedling dry. Glad you liked my silly story :D Thank you :)

Tina: Thank you, Tina. I felt so bad that I couldn't germinate Eggplant when my mom said they show up in no time usually. Keep pondering :D I was expecting an answer from Ms. Gandalf :D

Di: Glad you like my blog. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your posts. I am taking time to reading you older posts too. Entertaining... Good luck with your eggplants and peppers.
Thank you.

W2W: So true about Gardening, W2W. That's what makes it extra fun isn't it!

eric said...

Hello Chandramouli! I have no idea who the princess really is, nor her fast growing companion I'm afraid! But I did enjoy the tender way you wrote about them enormously! I think your plants should recognise what a caring foster parent they have found and treat you with great kindness :)

Rose said...

Sorry, Chandramouli, but I'm no help in identifying your Princess either. She is a lovely, though. I'm fond of many weeds myself, but you have the best possible situation--growing in a container, she's not going to take over your kingdom:) Your ground cherries bring back some fond memories--my mother used to pick these and make a pie with them. I wasn't particularly fond of them, but they are an unusual fruit.

Anonymous said...

nice Write up, I enjoy the way you describe.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I'm glad you've been posting more again! I always enjoy the way you tell a story about your plants, making them have their own little personalities. The birds sure bring you some interesting plants.

Chandramouli S said...

Thank you, Eric, for your kind words :) Welcome to Plantville! Hope you liked the stay.

Rose: So right about having control over the situation, but even then the Bell weed spread real fast here (even in pots) and so does the Basil! Now that's a good thing for me though. Quite a few groundcherries have ripened, can't wait to taste 'em!

Glad you like it, Zindagi.

I guess it's a Spring fever, Catherine :) I am glad too. I'm lucky that I have such sweet carriers!

Dirty Girl Gardening said...

Your veggies and herbs look very happy!

Anonymous said...

A very creative post. I enjoyed it. Now those don't look like weeds to me.

Chandramouli S said...

Thank you DGG and Rosie.
I too wish it isn't a weed coz I plan to save seeds, but if it is a weed, I would spread it to the neighborhood and once in land it might go haywire. I am afraid of that...

Antigonum Cajan said...

I would like to know:
Do you make or buy your soil.
Do you compost.
What are your pots made of.
How many species in total.
Once in a while the initiated
enjoys that particular kind
of information.

Chandramouli S said...

Antigonum Cajan: I am converting all my soil and repotting the plants in Coco peat + Sand + Compost mix.
I don't have a count of the number of plants, but there aren't many due to space constraints.

Unknown said...

ehi Chandra, vedo che stai provando diversi semenzali! vedrai quanto ti insegneranno e quanta soddisfazione ti porteranno! Ciao!

Chandramouli S said...

Thank you for stopping by, Josie. I hope all the seedlings germinate :)