I was reading through my old mails today and came across this one today and felt sorry I couldn't reply earlier. It's a beautiful mail from you Mr. Bhatt. I admire the informatin you provide on the forum for beginners like me. Hope you have many more wintering and summering seasons in your life to have your dream fulfilled.
Soma On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 8:20 PM, Anand Kumar Bhatt <[email protected]>wrote: > Sometime back I wrote this piece maily for sheer enjoyment. Hope you also > enjoy! > akbhatt > > > > *My Dream Garden* > > * * > > My mother belonged to a landowning class. My father later in life started > living in a village where he was killed by a small time dacoit. I was an > only child, and so I was compelled to sell off whatever land I inherited. I > am not ashamed to admit that I did not create an alternative asset and blew > off the money, though I still feel I did not waste it. Well, it is a > different story and entirely out of context. But sometimes it hurts to think > what one could haaae done with so much land in the twilight years, with > money available to fulfil your fancies. > > > > Nobody can stop you from dreaming. In my young days I dreamed of having a > 10-acre mango orchard. I had selected the various cultivars also which I > would plant. Dasheri, chausa, amrapali the cross of neelam x dasheri which > fruits every year, a few plants of baramasi which fruits twice a year, some > plants of hapus purely on an experimental basis. I had realised that it is > the soil which is congenial to a particular variety and every variety cannot > be grown everywhere. And that is why there are specialised varieties for > different places. I also thought of various tree varieties to serve as wind > breaker for my dream orchard, and zeroed in on sisu (dalbergia sissoo). I > had a fond wish of going to Lucknow and Malihabad, spending a few weeks or > months and learning the tricks of the trade. Then I sensibly realised > that it was not possible within my means. I reluctantly gave up dreaming > about that mango orchard of mine. Then I started dreaming of a one acre > garden which will be decorative, feast to the eye and which even though wild > and not needing much care will be good to live with, and watch every tree > grow, flower, and seed. At this late stage in life when I have crossed 60, > and do not have a long life to look forward to, I know that it will remain a > dream only which I cannot achieve. Anyway, nothing can stop me from > dreaming, and here is the concept for those who are at the right stage in > life with the right means as well. In this article let us confine ourselves > to beautiful trees. > > First, the selection of trees will depend on the place where you have that > one acre. And here let me add that I really envy the coastal areas in > India. Hot and humid is good for fertility whether for animals or for plant > kingdom. In Mumbai you see so many trees which show off so proudly but which > would be spindly failures if you try to export them to hot and dry climate > of central India. In my service days I was transferred from Bastar to > Gwalior. We carried some indoor plants which grew so well in the verandah in > Bastar. I was transferred in the heat of summer, and in Gwalior I saw all > those plants singed and burnt away. Not to say of the hill myna who could > survive only for a few months in the heat of central India. Please don't > report me to Manekaji. It was long ago. So let me concentrate on that > part of India that is central India which is hot and dry, gets about 25" of > rainfall and is essentially rocky with patches of fertile soil which need > only water to give a bountiful crop. > > > > So the first advice to everybody who wants to develop a medium sized > garden, maybe in a farmhouse, to use a more fashionable term. You make a > round of the area where you have the land and see which trees grow, flower > and fruit well. You probably have to see the entire cycle of seasons to > decide on the trees, plants and the seasonal flowers. Nothing like going for > tried and tested varieties. North western part has long winter and the > beautiful show of winter seasonal flowers which you seen in places like > Delhi and Chandigarh will not be there in a place where the winter is short. > > > > > My first choice in the long list of trees is Bauhinia blakeana. A > medium-sized tree with lovely large purple-coloured flowers. Flowers > profusely between autumn and spring. Pradeep Kishan has written that there > is only one original tree of this mutant variety in China, and as the flower > is sterile, all your trees can claim lineage to this tree because > multiplication is possible only through cutting and other methods of > vegetative propagation. The next in the line is the Mexican silk cotton tree > (chorisia speciosa), which flowers at the time you will not see any other > tree bloom. This is a widely used small tree in Delhi which has been > introduced only a few decades back. The third tree is plumeria. In Mumbai I > have seen the maximum number of varieties of this short statured tree: with > white, white with cream centre, yellow, yellow and red tricolour, and red > flowers. The white variety has beautiful evergreen foliage, and I have > seen it grow healthily even in Gwalior with hot and dry weather. Those > having small gardens, please stop here. I have always longed to see some > portion of boundary screened by ashok (Polyalthia longifolia pendula), > planted at 1 metre interval. I read somewhere that after they attain certain > height, if they are cut from the top they maintain that height. Don't ask me > how to do it. I can think of only the long ladders used by municipal people > to change fused street lamps. The trees are stately and evergreen. After > this very special list there are so many claimants: Yellow tabebeia of which > you could see abudance on the roads of Bangalore. There is a purple variety > which blooms very well in a slightly humid weather. My only complaint is > that it flowers for a very short duration. Gul mohur is so impressive in > coastal climate, but it can show good results in the central part of the > country as well. It is a quick-growing tree, not very long lasting and some > people suggest it alternating with Indian laburnum (amaltas) in long > avenues. If you are for foliage only, then nothing to beat saptaparni > (alstonia) and putranjiva. Ficus benjamina with lovely shiny foliage > cannot tolerate hot winds, but it can be grown in a slightly sheltered > position. And lagersrtoemia is so hardy, both tree and bush varieties. They > are in three colours-white, purple and pink. I have a weakness for the > bright pink variety. One more tree I will add is cassia, mainly two > varieties:cassia nodosa (also known as c. javanica) and c.lancasteri. It is > a treat to see c.nodosa flower in spring and c.lancasteri just after that. > If there is a place where a creeper can be shown to good effect, plant > pyrostegia venusta. It is worth waiting for the entire year to see the bloom > during winter. Remove the old and thin shoots after flowering. And along the > boundary wall nothing to beat bougainvilleas. In this we have now any > number of varieties and colours: white, pink, purple, tamarind, red, single > as well as double. Mary Palmer and Thimma varieties bear white as well as > purple coloured flowers. > > > > Among the scented varieties, there is the range of jasmines: mogra or bela > in bush, and juhi and chameli in creepers. Do not forget to prune mogra in > January-February. It is necessary for their flowering during summer. > Harsingar (Nyctanthes-small tree) and Raat-ki-rani (cestrum nocturnum-bush) > are other sweet-scented varieties. All the trees and shrubs give out their > best when planted in a group. Among the showy bushes and plants I have seen > impressive results of pentas, plumbago and verbena (seasonal which goes on > to summer). A few plants of vinca rosea are welcome addition. Now they have > got hybrid varieties which are more showy, but nothing to beat the original > varieties in white and mauve which keep on flowering all the year round > and is a perennial, though it is healthier to change the plants after a few > years. > > > > If you see the trees which were grown in the olden days you find that they > have long life so that once they grow up they hardly need any care. Ficus > varieties (peepul, bargad, gullar), Maulshri (with scented flowers), seeded > mango, silk cotton, neem, palash. And they were shady. Stately kadamba is > associated with Krishna and his flute-playing. Maulshri is slow-growing > and it is in old institutions that they show their good results- Allahabad > university has a few, and in the Parliament House I once saw it being > planted (for the generation of Rahul's offsprings). Ornamental bushes I > suggest three: acalypha, and for shady areas coleus and crotons (codiaeum). > I am including in the list only those varieties which once grown need > little or some care, and not the constant care that an exotic plant > requires. And in glass house or well-cared for situations there are many > exotic varieties which can be grown. In Durg I saw somebody covering one of > his walls in a shady location with ivy which he watered everyday. Ficus > benjamina in Mumbai needs shelter from the sea winds, and in Gwalior from > the hot winds and scorching summer sun. > > > > And lastly, save yourself from the temptation of overcrowding. You can't > have everything, and so severely curtail the number. One less is better than > one too many. Happy gardening. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
