Tag: Green Earth

World Environment Day!

by Reema, posted in Gardener's Confession

Social/Environmental Cause is a big term. Often associated with a false pride of us doing something for environment/others/society. I don’t think it really works that way. In the beginning, even I believed that I am doing something which is good for the planet. Bringing a change to the world or making the planet a greener place, are good things to talk about. But let’s be frank here. If you’re planning to start gardening, do it for yourself. Do it because it is one of the best things to be done!

Earth provides us with everything we need. Right from our food to our shelter, everything. So the next time you plant a tree, don’t say ‘for a better Earth’, say ‘for a better me’. Let your acts be that of a gratitude. If there is anything that you can change for better, it’s yourself. Earth can take care of herself.

Happy Gardening 🙂

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Gardener’s Confession – I don’t have a green thumb either!

by Reema, posted in Gardener's Confession

Let’s get Candid here!

There are so many things that I want to share. Lets start from here. I have so many people coming up to me and saying “You know what, I don’t have a green thumb!”  And all I want to say is “Neither do I!”

I want to get this straight – Gardening, like any other skill is acquired by learning and practice! There is nothing like an inherent ability or talent! If I can, anybody can!

If you’re under the impression that our parents or grandparents were better than us at Gardening, all I want to say is “of course they were. Most of them grew up in villages and even if not, they were surrounded with a lot of plants since childhood. Those Gardening activities that they are good at, was a part of their upbringing, which we lacked to some extent!”

So rule No.1 – Stop comparing yourself with your parents/grandparents!

Everyone makes mistakes. So do I! A lot!! Yes! I just realized that I have not spoken much about my mistakes. Gives an impression as if I am a perfectionist! No I am not! I just never spoke much about them. But I guess I need to. Its okay if you make mistakes. What is not okay is, you not knowing where you went wrong. You cannot afford not to learn from your mistakes. 

So if you want to know, have plants died in my Garden because of my mistakes, YESSS!! They did. The only difference, I realized where and what went wrong.

So rule No.2 – Its okay to make mistakes! Don’t be hard on yourself.

We are dealing with living beings. I want you to understand this. The way we humans are little broken.. Some are differently-abled, some women can’t conceive, some suffer from chronic depression and others from kidney failures. Even plants are that way. Not every plant can bear flowers or fruits. Not always do you have to go on adding fertilizers incessantly. Sometimes you just have to let them be the way they are, accept and love them. Can you do that for me?

Lastly, you also need to accept yourself! I tried growing Dahlias at my place. I first bought a dahlia plant from nursery and it lived for a year. Second time I tried growing them from seeds. Both the times I realized there was something that I was not getting right. May be it was the climate or that they really needed chemical fertilizers to survive- I don’t know what. But I stopped growing Dahlias. I had a choice. I could keep frustrating myself over the Dahlias or I could just move to 500 other options that I had. I moved.

You have so many options. Start from something that is zero risk and then move yourself up. I am always there to help you. Take up Gardening.

Trust me when I say this, “If you have a thumb – Its green!”

Flowers, flowers and More Flowers!

by Reema, posted in Gardening, Gardening Basics

Now that we know flowers help attract bees, butterflies and birds; let’s get a bit more specific about what kind of flowers. We also discussed about single petaled flowers being better than the double petaled ones.

  • The next thing is to incorporate as many colors as possible. Its true that colorful flowers attract bees and butterflies more than the usual white flowers.

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  • Also add as many different variety of flowers as possible. Fruit vegetables are a great option too.

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  • Prefer both Bunch flowers like Ixora and Pentas as well as individual flowers like hibiscus.
Pink Ixora flower bunch
  • Have flowers for all the seasons.
  • Go 100% organic.

 

Single Vs. Double

by Reema, posted in Gardening Basics

We know flowers help attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

We also know that the flowers have to be native/indigenous!

What next?

It is said that the bees and butterflies prefer single petaled flowers more than double.

Confused? Look the following pictures. The images to left indicate single petaled flowers and the images to the right are double petaled ones.

Opt for single petaled flowers the next time.

Happy Gardening 🙂

Disclaimer: The images in the post are used for illustrative purposes and do not belong to reemasgarden.wordpress.com

Your Garden does not need additional water!

by Reema, posted in Gardening Concerns

Surprising as it may seem you can manage your Garden very efficiently with the existing quantity of water usage. Garden by no means is demanding, especially when it comes to water! So whether you’re facing a water crunch or you believe in water conservation, these tricks will definitely help you save water.

#1 Always Mulch the Soil: Mulching helps to prevent water evaporation from the soil thereby requiring less water. To know more about Mulching click here.

mulching

#2 Use Fresh Cow-dung: Cow dung is excellent to prevent water evaporation and keep the soil well hydrated. Mix 1kg of cow-dung in 5 liters of water and use it to water the plants. This acts as excellent compost, mulch and water retention technique. You can also try making amrutjal. Click here to know more about amrutjal. (Disclaimer : Please do not use fresh cow dung in monsoon/rainy season. The moisture in the soil combined with humidity in the atmosphere will lead to fungal growth.)

#3 Water from Mopping the Floor: It is a great idea to Mop the floor with plain water (without any chemical floor cleaners) and then use it for watering the plants.

mopping

#4 Water from washing clothes: You may not be aware but there are many 100% eco-friendly detergents available in the market. So you can use the water that drains out after washing/rinsing the clothes and use it for watering the plants. In fact its a great idea to connect your washing Machine’s drainage pipe to another smaller pipe that leads directly to your garden or pots.

washing clothes

#5 Water from Washing Your Fruits & Vegetables: It is a great idea to wash your fruits, vegetables and other food items like cereals and pulses in a container and use the same for watering the plants.

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These are my top 5 water saving techniques. Please add your ideas in the comment section below!

Happy Gardening 🙂

 

 

 

Please Help!

by Reema, posted in My Ongoing Projects

Hi Friends! As you know, I am a Gardner and my life is all about my Plants. However I have decided to take it a step further. I am now studying Human-plant relationship! Please help me to get a better insight into this relationship by putting in your perspective.

Here’s a link to the Survey!

https://goo.gl/forms/OTXIW3sdobivlcHy1

It will take just 5mins!

Thank You!

Things you require to start Gardening..

by Reema, posted in Gardening Basics

The most crucial and vital thing in gardening is your passion. Gardening is beyond the concept of entertainment (time-pass) or hobby. Your involvement with plants cannot be on a superficial level. They are living beings and just like your family members they need your attention and love more than food and water. You need to understand, respect and appreciate your plants only then can you call yourself a Gardener!!

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Once you have passion, rest everything will look very minuscule. You require a space which receives ample of sunlight (at least 3 hours of sunlight in a day). You need to water the plants regularly (daily). And you need to maintain the plants with proper pruning and composting.045db6310a3b2bcfb2bae6ec4ff93ce0

An ideal way to start is to buy one single plant and then every month go on adding different plants to your garden. Starting with just one plant gives you a lot of scope to observe the plant. With such a keen observation you are able to learn a lot of things about the plant. After all, gardening is learnt only through observations.

If it is your plant, it is your Baby. You will have to watch over it and enjoy its growing process. Its new leaves, its first bud, the flowering of the bud, the growth of a new stem. Everything counts.