Tag Archives: humor

Gardening Remotely

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By the time I get back home a week from now, I’d have been away 6 weeks and have never been gone from home and garden that long. Leaving the latter in the height of growing season was difficult. But, I was determined to not fret and worry and ruin my vacation in France and visit with my father in India. Taking time to rest and refresh and/or reconnect with family are very necessary to ones well-being after all.

I did of course occasionally wonder how the garden was faring but I’d stop from thinking further. Between the watering system set up to kick in if the soil in pots got too dry, the nephew coming around regularly to check on everything and take action as needed and, Ephraim, the person hired to do a weekly mowing to the handkerchief sized lawn, the garden was going to be okay. The weeds would have free reign but, they’d be dealt with eventually. Que sera sera.

However, while I went on to India, my husband returned home and this meant, I’d have my actual garden helper right where I wanted him to be. In the garden. When the man was not doing the work he is employed to do, he could tend to the garden right? Hallelujah.

Since his return a week ago, he’s reported on –

How the garden is looking – lush, green and wild. Since there was a fair amount of rain, all the plants were well hydrated. Many had quite a growth spurt.

What tasks were addressed – some cutting back, some staking, some digging up and tossing. Harvesting of leafy greens and micro-greens for culinary delights and dahlias for adorning the home, cleaning and tidying up edges, washing and refilling hummingbird feeders, reinstalling the window boxes that had been taken down to join the other pots so they could all benefit from the the watering system set up, clean the filtration system that recirculates the water for the vertical garden, take many photographs to send back to the absconding head gardener.

I’m so delighted with the photographs because I’d started missing the garden a lot. (Cooped up inside my father’s apartment because of the torrents of monsoon rains can make anyone long for the outdoors.) Asking how different plants were doing and receiving visual responses is really nice. The lotus project started this spring was top on my mind – the first couple of buds have emerged! The dahlias are beginning their show. The meadow is serving lots of insects with the cimicifuga, Joe Pye and milkweed in bloom. Asters in the front garden are poised to bloom soon. Squirrels are attacking the unripe apples as usual.

I’m also happy to get reports on the not so visible goings on. The birdhouses are still occupied and the chatter from them is non-stop. The garden is full of fragrances – in the front, the phlox are welcoming visitors and passersby with their clove -like perfume. On the side porch, it smells heady and romantic with the jasmines and gardenia blooming with abandon. And in the back terrace, the brugamansia are trumpeting loudly as their exotic fragrance lures humans and night pollinators alike. This is exactly how I want it to be.

Of course, I know much weeding awaits but for now, I’m kinda getting to appreciate this remote gardening thing.

All images taken by my assistant gardener –

Jasmine and gardenia in bloom
Gardenia
See the bud? emerging lotus bud? So exciting!

(c) Shobha Vanchiswar 2023

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Keeping Calm And Carrying On

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January is a great time to catch up on that pile of books and magazines that go neglected when one is busy in the garden. I invariably have a clutch of garden magazines to peruse and because their corresponding month(s) have already passed, I generally take note of plants and advice to implement for next year. A sort of rough list of long term to-do items to consider when I finally make my grand plans and preparations for the gardening seasons to come. This is a pastime I really look forward to – it’s an activity filled with possibilities and dreams. So, there I am eager to take my time to reflect and regroup as mentioned last week when I’m rudely sent into panic mode – I’m way behind on schedule! My garden is simply not ready!

I’d observed that this January, my pile of magazines was kind of small as all of last year, I’d been fairly good about reading the periodicals soon after they arrived in the mail. Settling down to enjoy this modest stack, I quickly found myself drooling over images of swathes of snowdrops blanketing countryside gardens, bouquets worth of hellebores blooming in gardens small and large, pansies bravely showing their faces above snow laced earth and other plants stretching awake. All happening in real time. Looking around my own plot, I gazed upon a garden in hibernation. Like the night before Christmas, nothing was stirring. How could this be?!

I had yet to prune the grapevine and roses. For goodness sake, the holiday decorations had only been recently removed. How then could there possibly be signs of spring awakening? Scrolling quickly through Instagram, I came upon post after post depicting the same early spring flowers perking up gardens. Some even had daffodils ready to unfurl bright yellow petals. I could feel the growing pit in my stomach. And then, it hit me – I’d become so absorbed in my reading and salivating, that it’d completely escaped my mind that I was following/reading what was happening in England. Whew! What a big relief.

With milder winters than ours in the northeast, the UK enjoys winter blooms that we typically associate with early spring. However, even for them this is a bit earlier than usual to see daffodils readying to bloom. They too have had an odd winter thus far. From too cold to crazy rain the weather has been capricious. It has me wondering how our own strange winter to date will impact the seasons ahead. Will spring be early? I hope not! Anticipating it is a giddy thrill I do not want abbreviated. Besides, past experience has shown an early start generally means a short spring with summer arriving all too soon dragging with it deplorable heat and humidity. I hate that. I could live with spring forever.

But, this is conjecture. I cannot worry about what I cannot control. Time will reveal what is to be. For now, I’m just going to revel in the doings in England and dream about my spring garden to come. I’ll keep calm and carry on. Stiff upper lip and all that.

Note: Since we’re in dream mode, I’m sharing images of some of my watercolors instead of garden photos –

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Put A Name On It!

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As a scientist and a gardener, I’ve always found nomenclature to be very important. The scientific name of a living thing is full of information and not simply a tag by which they are referred. But, that is not what I want to discuss. I’m thinking more in terms of what words we choose to designate the spaces in our property.

To start, I cannot for the life of me understand why a garden is ever called a yard. A yard is for junk, trains, lumber, school, stock, barn, grave and such. A holding area. A garden is not synonymous with yard. When you hear the Y word, do you really ever envision a plot of land lush and lovely? But you do when you hear the G word. A yard does not imply a lovingly tended area but a garden definitely does. You see?

I have no doubt that what we name things matters. How we view, use and care for something is impacted by how we reference it. I’m not done. I have one other similar peeve.

Consider the deck versus terrace/patio/loggia/veranda/lanai. The deck sounds ordinary– functional and convenient. As a noun, it is also a part of a ship or a pack of cards. Not necessarily something that belongs to a garden. All the other aforementioned synonyms evoke an area distinctly designed for relaxation with a pleasing backdrop of plants and flowers. Am I right?

So, with that in mind, consider the various parts of my garden. Front garden with front porch looking on to it – an inviting, pretty place leading to the house. The espalier allée or peony walk on the side escorts you to the potager, terrace and checkerboard garden. Beyond, is the meadow that plays host to the greenhouse and tree-house. And coming up the other side one walks by the vertical garden. And there you have it. You just got a garden tour.

The alternate would be – front yard, side path, vegetable/herb plot, deck, back yard, plant

wall. Which tour would you want to take?

Be honest.

Note: Enjoy a quick tour of my garden –

Front garden

Espalier Allee or Peony walk

Side porch

Potager

Potager and side porch above

Potager and terrace

Terrace

Checkerboard garden

Meadow

Vertical garden

(c) 2022 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Egos, Ethics, Ethos

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As Thanksgiving draws near, the mind, almost on cue, starts thinking about its significance. I appreciate this clear annual reminder to pause and give thanks for all the gifts I’ve received through the year. From kind words that spoke to my heart to thoughtful assistance in the garden, every little or big gesture is reason to celebrate. It all adds up to a rich, bountiful year.

It’s also a time to review what I have given of myself to make a difference. Did I do enough? Opportunities to serve come by all the time – sometimes we don’t notice them till it’s too late, at other times we are so consumed with out own issues that we cannot find it in ourselves to reach out and then there are those times when we are forced to make choices. It’s not always possible to say yes every time.

I frequently wonder whether I am doing all that I can. In the garden for example, I am certainly working hard to serve the earth with care and kindness. Ethical, ecological and environmental concerns guide my work. In doing no harm, I strive to leave this piece of earth a better place than when I started. Yet, there are occasions when I ‘cheat’. For instance, when a photo-shoot for a national publication to come out next summer was scheduled this past September, I had to scramble to make the garden look ready for its close-up.

I’d just returned from a month long trip and the place required major weeding and tidying. More than that, it needed some serious prettying up. Typically, by this time, I’m sort of slacking off and not worrying too much about the garden being tip-top.

The front lawn was looking raggedy and exhausted. Tiny as it is, it is very much a vital part of that making-a-good-first-impression feature. So, on went the watering schedule – every day leading to the big day. I wince thinking of the amount of water used. While most other chores were more about physical labor, knowing that I was compromising my own principle on conserving water, had pangs of guilt keeping me awake at night.

I did get lovely annuals to lend some seasonal charm and by the time of the photo-shoot, the grass looked lush and green, the weeding and general primping were duly dealt with and the whole place was up to snuff. The photographer was wonderful – she made me feel mighty pleased with my garden. And with myself.

And so it goes, one sacrifices beliefs and rules when it suits. I ask myself what I will and will not give in to. How strong can I be in tough and/or unexpected circumstances? It’s so easy when all is well but the true test is staying on even keel in a storm. Those are the times when we discover something significant about ourselves.

And that’s how I found out that I’m frightfully vain about my garden. And proud. And entirely human. Alas.

Note: I’m re-posting images of art work by artists who painted in my garden this past June. How others see my garden is always exciting and eye-opening.

(c) 2019 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Good Time(ing)s

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In general, once my garden Open Day has passed, a respite of sorts is granted. The garden looks its best, all the heavy work is over and it’s simply a matter of maintenance. Weeding, watering, deadheading, mowing – the usual tasks to keep the garden looking neat and cared for. It’s time to start relaxing and lolling about in the garden. But not this year.

I had, over this past winter, decided to go for a bigger push in the ‘meadow’. Envisioning this space as a true four season performance arena and inspired by Piet Oudolf’s matrix planting system, I ordered 18 different native plants totaling 200 plants. That’s a lot of plants. Given that the ‘meadow’ already has a range of plants and bulbs in residence, the new introductions would be a bit of a challenge. So, I sourced a nursery that would provide young plugs of the plants making it a bit easier to get into the ground between the existing plants.

This new order arrived a day before the Open Day. Needless to say, planting them had to wait. Given the need to take a little time off post-Open Day and a couple of days of inclement weather, a whole week went by. Memorial weekend it had to be. As much as I was keen on simply enjoying the long weekend with no tasks on the agenda, the plugs of plants could not be ignored. Hence, over the afternoon of Saturday to well past sunset we planted one side of the ‘meadow’. The weather was ideal but getting around the established plants was a game of Twister. Marking the spots for the plugs using bamboo stakes, making the holes ( my engineer husband/under-gardener used a drill and that made it so much better) and placing the plants took so much longer than if one were starting on a blank canvas of earth. Our sore backs and legs were testaments to the effort.

Sunday dawned and we began at 8:00am by which time it was already hot and humid. So vastly different from the day before. The bugs were out in full swing. We finally got all the planting done barely in time to start preparing for our first garden party of the season. We hadn’t as yet shopped for the event! Needless to say, it became a marathon of shopping, prepping, baking (dessert), setting up, laying the table, firing up the outdoor wood-fired oven, showering and dressing … in a matter of hours.

All was accomplished just in time for the first guests’ arrival. Whew!

Then, just as the party was nicely underway and we were considering starting on pizza making, the first raindrops dropped. Yikes! Very soon we realized it was only going to get worse. This crowd was not the kind to run indoors. Not a chance. Instead, with all hands on deck, a big tarpaulin was spread and tethered over the pergola ( with me urging them to “mind the wisteria buds!”). The pop-up tent was brought out of storage and commissioned to allow the pizza-maker/husband and guest helpers to work unfettered by the rain. And the party continued in much hilarity and good cheer. Well into the night.

Planting time, good times – it’s all in the timing. And a can-do attitude.

P.S – Aforementioned under-gardener has categorically stated that he is done with all planting for the rest of the growing season. Hmmm, we shall see about that.

  • The meadow before latest plantings
  • Drilling holes for plugs
  • Marking stakes on the ready
  • 8:00 pm and first side is done
  • All fired up!
  • Team work
  • The unfazed by the weather crowd
  • The list of plants put in this past weekend

(c) 2019 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Seasonal Parallax

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Thanks to Instagram and my backlog of horticultural periodicals, I’m in a state of seasonal flux. In catching up with my reading, I’m perusing articles about gardens in summer and fall. It’s easy to get caught up in all those well-written descriptions and I’m right there weaving in and out of dahlias blazing through August heat and a riot of autumnal colors of leaves and grasses. In parallel, the Australian gardens I follow on Instagram are spilling over in summer glory in real time. How can I not start believing its all happening to me?

While I’m eagerly anticipating spring and enjoying my forced hyacinths and tulips in the cozy confines of home, I’m keeping up with the current progress of spring across the pond in the UK. Swathes of Eranthis, carpets of Galanthus have me covetous and impatient all at once. I imagine my own garden having the same glorious features heralding the season. I can see this! And I feel the thrill of it all. It seems so true. And then, I look outside and consider the reality. Snow, bare limbs … blah.

It appears that at any time of any given day I’m likely to believe I’m in any one of the four seasons. It’s plainly disorienting and yet, just as a child keeps aiming for ice-cream induced brain freeze, I’m hooked to following the seasons evolve in far flung corners of the earth. That’s because it’s also exciting, hopeful and inspiring. It’s got my juices flowing and I’m madly making notes and lists and ordering up plants.

The Internet/social media has conflated the seasons and shrunk the globe for this gardener’s pleasure and perplexity. Just wait till my wallet wises up to these goings on. All this wild exploration might be leading up to pandemonium in penury.

Join me! Follow me on Instagram @shobhavanchiswar and @seedsofdesignllc

Enjoy these seasonally mixed-up images:

(c) 2019 Shobha Vanchiswar

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10 Cold, Hard Truths About Gardening

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I’ve been gardening one way or other for most of my life. So it stands to reason that I’ve learned a lot, done a lot and, failed more than I care to remember. Here is what I wish someone had told me before some of those mistakes were made:

1. Set your expectations low. When you do that, everything appears as a success.

2. Max out your pots, window-boxes and urns with seasonal annuals. They will scream so much for attention that nobody will notice the perennial beds overrun with weeds and bereft of whatever was supposed to be blooming that day.

3. Beware other gardeners bearing gifts. We are notorious for sharing – mostly those plants that tend to run hog wild.

4. You are not supreme commander of your garden. The squirrels own that title. They will dig up, munch on, toss up and vandalize right before your visitors are set to arrive.

5. Never tell anybody that your magnolias/tulips/roses/peonies/lilies/irises/any other plant are about to burst into flower. As soon as you do that, an animal, child or act of nature will destroy the entire batch of buds.

6. Pets like dogs should be banned from gardens. Do not listen to anybody who says otherwise. Dogs will dig up beds, kill the lawn with their urine, chase away good creatures like birds, openly use the garden as self-appointed canine fertilizers, somehow make friends with your enemies the squirrels and deer and select your prize patch of jack-in-the-pulpits as their nap station. Please do not write saying otherwise – I will not be dissuaded. I absolutely adore dogs but refuse allow them in my garden. Period.

7. Always buy two of every tool. Keep one set hidden – that set is solely for your own use. Don’t tell anyone about it. The other set of tools are kept out for the use all ( aka those who lose and/or abuse the tools). You will look like a good sharer and will keep your sanity at the same time.

8. Invest in a good manicure and blow-out the day before you have visitors to your garden. You will look and feel good and your guests will marvel at how you create such an amazing paradise whilst looking so flawless. Smile and graciously accept all the compliments.

9. Get children to help. No, really. Their small hands can pull out emerging weeds more easily than your own large paws. Similarly, they can deadhead pretty thoroughly too. The child with the largest harvest of weeds and/or dead flowers gets an extra scoop of ice-cream. Caveat – be sure you have taught them to identify the weed or else they will remove all your nascent self-seeders like columbines, cleomes, forget-me-nots and such.

10. Gardening is bloody hard work.

Note: Do visit this show!

Annual Holiday Art & Book Sale
December 11 − December 22
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Art Students League: The Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery
 
Enjoy some of my December-thus-far photos:

First snow of this winter

(c) 2017 Shobha Vanchiswar
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