Natural Instinct

It’s funny how easily one can forget that one is not in any way in-charge of the garden. We can plan, design, prepare, plant and go about all the factors in creating and maintaining our gardens but really, we are rank amateurs in the grand scheme of horticultural mastery. Nature reigns supreme.

Whilst I’ve been away, despite my absence and consequential neglect, my garden has come through just admirably. It’s true that some matters like watering and having someone to stop by and check on things were addressed but in reality, a garden is pretty much on its own when the gardener is absconding. In our hubris, we imagine all sorts of calamities that could happen. Stuff that we would heroically overcome were they to occur in our presence. The truth is, I could have done very little about the heat wave nor the fierce storms that came through in my absence.

The results of extreme weather are inevitable. Plants in their prime keeling over in the heat, fruits changing their minds about ripening mid-process, low-lying beds in danger of drowning sending beseeching looks for help, roses either wearing cloaks of mildew or looking crispy and dry depending on the cause, are all things that happen. But, none of these things are actually in a gardener’s control. For the most part, we simply deal with the problems as they occur.

Given the undeniable fact that the climate is changing, its virtually impossible to predict what conditions to anticipate and mitigate. So, we try to take a broad in-case-of approach. In case it rains, lets do this, in case its too dry lets do that. We don’t really know!

And that’s what I did too. It’s pretty much what any gardener does. We loftily aim to preserve intact every single plant in the garden but it’s all a big gamble really.

Here’s a sample of what actually happened –

A sudden increase in the neighborhood’s rabbit population led to the demise of the squash plants that I was growing as an experiment – it was to be a groundcover that also supplied the summer menus. Its a groundcover all right. The flowers are serving the rabbits.

Several small pots corralled into a bigger container for easier watering became a buffet for slugs due to the high volume of rainwater that could not drain away fast enough. The slugs were mighty ravenous.

The espalier has seen a growth spurt and looks desperately in need of a good summer trim.

Predictably, the weeds have been most happy. They have thrived and spread.

Squirrels took care of all the ripening apples and pears. That’s right. The rascals left nothing.

And that was about it in damage assessment.

Meanwhile, everything else looks just lovely. All that pre-travel fretting, during-travel worrying and returning-home anxiety was a complete waste.

When, oh when, will I learn.

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Growing Minds

No matter where we find ourselves, gardeners are always gardeners. We notice plants that are minding their own business by the side of a street, rush to examine what’s pushing its way through walls of ancient ruins, insist on stopping the car on busy roads to see exactly what flowers are blooming in the wild, quiz farmers and produce vendors at the local market about the hows and whats of growing fruits and vegetables, cajole chefs to share recipes of unusual, out of the box presentations of vegetables ( a mille-feuille or Napoleon using thin layers of crisp eggplant instead of pastry anyone?), going out of the way to visit both famous as well as secret gardens. I’m guilty of all of the aforementioned traits – curiosity of the natural world sustains me endlessly. I know I’m not alone.

That said, here are some things I’ve noticed/learned/enjoyed on this current visit to Provence. Which is by the way, a place very close to my heart. I’ve been coming here for over 25 years and I’m still always experiencing new stuff. This region never ceases to inspire.

Provence is famous for its lavender. All those beautiful pictures of swathes of lavender are true. It really is stunning to see the fields and fields of this herb in bloom. I’ve known that the type that grows in lower altitude is widely used in household products (soaps, detergents and such) and the higher altitude lavender is the fine variety that is used in the perfume industry. The former is pollinated by insects like the honey bee while the latter is wind pollinated. There is also a hybrid type. Even small changes in altitude will influence the quality of any of the varieties.

Last week, I learned that despite France being the luxury perfume capital of the world, lavender is the only product that is truly French. Other flowers and industry components were and still are from former French colonies. Iris from Egypt for example. The region of Grasse, where the top perfume houses have their headquarters was simply selected because of its location – a port easily accessed from other parts of the world serving the perfume industry. One might see an occasional field of roses or some other flower in Grasse but that is hardly what is supplying the industry. Lavender however is a pure homegrown product and yet, its mostly treated like the stepchild of the business. Go figure.

This years olive harvest is being watched closely. Olives are wind pollinated. So when the small white flowers bloom, they depend quite literally on how the wind blows. This year, Provence received an usual amount of ill-timed rains which caused many olive trees to drop a good amount of the flowers. Consequently, it is expected that the harvest will be lower than usual. Quel domage.

I noticed for the first time how well jasmine grows in this region. While I’d been here before in lavender season which extends over a few weeks, I’d not had the pleasure until now to see and inhale the jasmines in bloom. Many home gardens have these plants scrambling up sides of the stones walls to make rather fetching images. Old walls of local stone softened by bright green vines tracing their way around makes for easy design solutions.

On a walk along a nondescript road in the middle of an old village, I noticed a tree bearing fruit amidst a random group of overgrown weeds and shrubs. It was not immediately clear what sort of fruiting tree I was looking at. Starting out yellow and then turning a pink-orange, these almost heart shaped fruits were larger than cherries but much smaller than plums. I picked a ripe fruit, a dried up drupe and a set of leaves and brought them back to the house. The PlantSnap app was no help at all. I still don’t exactly know what it is but on cutting the fruit, the pit looks to me that it is a type of plum. My research continues. Maybe like crab apples, this is a ‘crab plum’.

I’ve also been enjoying interesting creations where vegetables are being used in desserts. Chocolate and cream of artichoke hearts gateaux, popsicles of sugar snap and vanilla bean ice cream covered in a coating of white chocolate blended with peas. And lets not forget that mille-feuille of eggplant instead of pastry. I’ve had sweet horseradish sorbet accompanying a main course. A beet infused potato sliced so fine that it is transparent and somehow made crisp and flecked with blue petals of chicory accompanying an amuse-bouche. Every single one of these and other such dishes was truly delicious. And visually beautiful to boot. I’m now inspired to try my hand at coming up with my own unusual creations. If I succeed in ‘inventing’ even one dish, I’ll be rather chuffed!

And so it goes, the world is a great big classroom and a gardener is its eternal student.

Note: No apologies for the many lavender images! I simply cannot get enough!

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Jiving With July

Ah July! It’s truly summer and the living is easy. Or, we wish it to be. Fourth of July festivities to kick off the month puts everyone in the mood to enjoy the season doesn’t it? Picnics, pool parties, concerts in the park, vacation travels, hosting house guests, entertaining friends in the garden, hanging out in hammocks, beach days, ice cream socials … the list of summer pleasures just goes on. I want to squeeze the season hard so as not to miss a single drop of all its enchantment.

But, in the midst of all the frolicking, garden chores await. In my case, as I’m still away, the tasks are piling up but I’m not going to dwell on them and get into a panic as to the state of my garden when I return. What will be, will be. For now, I’m making the most of my vacation. A relaxed and rested me will tackle the neglected garden in due course. Driven by guilt is one way to get things done but it never brings out the best in me. By the time I get home, I will be eager and ready to lavish the garden with much TLC. I do believe the garden will understand and appreciate that.

Here’s the July To-Do list –

1. Weed, weed, weed! Remember, pouring boiling water over bricks and other stonework will kill stubborn weeds growing in-between.

2. Deadhead often. Neatness matters.

3. Mulch, fertilize, water.

4. Mow regularly but keep the mower blade high.

5. Watch out for pests and/or disease. Use organic control.

6. Plant out vegetable seedlings for fall harvest.

7. Keep birdbaths filled with fresh, clean water.

8. Order fall bulbs

9. Take time to watch dragonflies by day and fireflies by night.

Happy Fourth!

Here are some things in Provence, France that are inspiring me –

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Travel Takes

The best sort of travel is when one can take a proper break from routine to explore and soak in the surroundings, refresh the mind and fill the heart with a sense of awe and gratitude. That’s exactly what I’m doing here in Provence. I come here because its my happy place. All my senses are engaged and the joy I feel every time is pure bliss.

It is lavender season at the moment so this is when Provence shines at her brightest and looks her very best. Although, I’m told that the poppies gave strong competition till a few weeks ago. It has apparently been a particularly good year for them. They are well on their way out but what glimpses I’ve had of them, I can well imagine the stunning scenes I’ve just missed. Perhaps another year I’ll come in time for les coquelicot.

To see fields and fields of purple rows of lavender is nothing short of breathtaking. Up close, the thrum of bees purposefully making their rounds of the flowers is almost deafening. The butterflies add further color and movement while the birds compete in song. It is simply marvelous.

Lavender aside, there are other wildflowers in bloom. Geraniums, Spanish broom, chicory, scabiosa, verbascum, poppies, oxeye daisies and several others, some of which that I’m yet to identify are running riot in the meadows, hill sides, along the roads and even amongst some of the lavender. And since they’ve had more rain than usual, there is a green lushness I haven’t seen before. I’m smitten.

I’m able to see how these plants grow naturally, the sort of conditions they like best, the surprising color combinations we don’t typically try in our gardens ( sulfur yellow and pale pink?) – so much inspiration. Simple, common flowers doing a bang up job in beautifying the countryside.

The gardens in my temporary home are also looking lovely. The jasmine is in bloom and sends out a heady fragrance in the afternoon after the sun has warmed the air sufficiently. The small lavender ‘field’ is getting ready to burst into bloom – soon. I’ll have my very own purple haze to enjoy. It should look quite stunning against the soft, gray-green of the olive grove alongside.

And so it goes. Travel opens the mind – to take in new pleasures and often, learn from the old.

Here are some images from my wanderings in Provence –

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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