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| Rajnigandha/ Tube Rose |
In my last post, nearly four weeks ago, I'd shown you my Rajnigandha buds. And I've been meaning to write about the flowers, but my new job keeps me busy and the flowers have been slow to come. From the the first bud to the withering of the last flower, it has taken at least two months. They've been really slow but it's been well worth the wait.
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| Flowers Bloom One at a Time |
The cluster of buds, open one at a time, from the outside. And I think it took nearly a month for the first bud to bloom. The flowers aren't spectacular to look at. It's the fragrance that is absolutely irresistible. The scent is so heady, so intense, yet not cloying. I wish Blogger would allow me to post its scent for you. Let me at least post the link to a song about it, one of my favourite Hindi film songs - "Rajnigandha Phool Tumhare".
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| Night Bloomers |
For those who don't know, "Rajnigandha" loosely translates to "night-fragrant". The flowers open at night. It's a good choice for a moon garden. Rajnigandha or Tube Rose are bulbs that are suppose to bloom in summer, but I've been lucky. Of course, I've fed them quite a bit as I was told they need lots of nutrition.
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| Withered and Gone |
Every day as I reach home, I pass a flower bazaar fully stocked with Rajnigandha garlands. These garlands are very popular in India, especially at weddings. I think the flowers are known to have aphrodisiac properties. I read somewhere that they're also used in therapies, as they are amazing de-stressers. One long sniff of the flower filled me with calm and goodness.
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| Small Haul of Pink Mooli |
Apart from Rajnigandha, the recent highlights of my garden have been pink mooli and capsicum. While I thought pink mooli would be more attractive than the white ones, the white ones actually yielded much better. Perhaps it was because the pink mooli seeds were 100% organic and traditional. These pink mooli were really tiny, about half the size of the white one, which was not too large either.
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| Pink Mooli Leaves: More Sharply Lobed than White Mooli Leaves |
My capsicum have actually flowered and fruited. I let the leaf curl be. And still they've managed to produce a few fruit. I expected them to be yellow-red, but they're plain old green :( Think I mixed up the seeds. At last I know what a homegrown capsicum is all about: really crunchy.
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| Capsicum/Bell Pepper/Sweet Pepper Flower (You can't miss the leaf curl) |
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| My First Tiny Capsicum. Next to a Teaspoon for Scale |
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| More Capsicum |
Now wouldn't it be nice if you were able to get Capsicums that smelled like Rajnigandha?
ReplyDeleteHearty harvest! Rajnigandha flowers are fragrant.
ReplyDeleteLoved your description of the Rajnigandha flowers! I can only imagine the beautiful perfume from them-what a pity!
ReplyDeleteRajanigandha looks cute with a little pink tinge too. The satisfaction of smelling them when they open, is simply divine.
ReplyDeleteThe red radish looks similar to my harvest, ( seed from GG). The capsicums look healthy.
Wish you more of them.
The tube rose surely took its time and made you wait for it, but the fragrance sounds enticing and worth the wait. Do you eat the mooli leaves also, as we would do in the US?
ReplyDeleteOh yes, we do eat the mooli leaves. I find the leaves go very well with a little garlic.
DeleteGood to see your harvest, Anita. I've been trying to grow Rajnigandha too. Although the plant looks ok, it hasn't flowered. Loved reading your comment on my blog. Part of the inspiration comes from you. I never really thought I'd grow potatoes in containers. Guess what? I'll be having a couple of friends over tomorrow and there'll be a few greens straight out of my containers. Now, that's a good feeling!
ReplyDeleteHi, it's me again! Just stopped by to tell you that my lemon plants aren't doing too well. The swallowtails lay their eggs on the leaves but by way of harvest it's nothing much. The tiny lemons on my last post are from a plant that I bought from a horticultural show. The plant was full of blossoms and the tiny plant is now full of tiny fruit. I'll have to wait and see whether they do well till the time they mature. If by chance you have the same caterpillars on your plant, just let them be. They only eat up a few leaves.:)
ReplyDeleteKanak, I'm not sure if I am as courageous to just let caterpillars be, especially if they're on my lemon plant. But from now I'll be more attentive to caterpillars. And maybe one day, I'll actually view them more kindly.
Deletenice harvest anita
ReplyDeleteGreat harvest! Are your Mooli container grown? if so, how big a container did you use?
ReplyDeleteThe leaves of your Mooli look great too... Very fresh... I would use them in salads. Your capsicums look great too... If you let it fruit in the plant it will eventually change color from green to yellow and eventually into red..
Yes, the moolis are container grown. I used a regular 12 inch container.
DeleteMaybe with the next batch of capsicums, I will wait for them longer to change colour.
Hi
ReplyDeleteJust happened upon your blog as I have recently retired and started a kitchen garden that too in chennai so was looking up chennai based gardening blogs.
I love rajnigandhas too where do you think I can get the plant /bulb in Chennai?
The coorg shots and write up was great reading.
Your blog took me through your garden. It's a lovely productive garden!
DeleteI am not sure where you can get rajnigandhas in Chennai. I got the bulbs from the Lalbagh nursery in Bangalore. They're hardy and are sold like onion bulbs; not at all difficult to transport.
Anita, great to see your plants. It inspires me to grow my own vegetables. As of now I have only been growing flowering plants, but now I will surely give vegetables a try. Can you please suggest some veggies that grow in partial sunlight? Do you get these ragnigandha bulbs anywhere in chennai?
ReplyDeleteHi Susila, Veggies grow well only in full sunlight. In fact, I am not sure what will grow well in partial sunlight, except Karpooravalli (which is really not a veggie). Other greens like spinach may also grow well in partial sunlight. But most other veggies need a lot of sunlight.
DeleteI got the rajnigandha bulbs at the lalbagh nursery in bangalore. I am not sure where you get them in Chennai.
I just landed on your blog searching for gardening with coconut peat in Chennai. Your harvest looks lovely. I did not know that capsicum can be grown in Chennai weather. Your harvest gives me hope. The yellow and red capsicum are actually riper versions of green one. If you leave your capsicum on the plant for longer time first it will turn yellow and then red. It takes time. The reason why yellow and red are more expensive in the stores is because the farmers have to leave them on the plant for so long without harvesting and taking care of them (water, fertilizers, pesticides) while they ripen on the bush.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've figured that out. I now get quite a few red capsicums if I leave them long enough. They're tiny, but they're flavourful and crunchy. Now is a good time for capsicum in Chennai. Once it gets really hot, it's not possible to grow them.
DeleteHi Anita,
DeleteWhere are you in chennai. I wish to get some tuberose bulbs from you. Let me know if it is available.
Hi RRT... I want to grow bell pepper too...I live in Kolkata..I want to know about their sowing time/month, and care about growing them in pot..can u give some suggestions?...
ReplyDeleteHi Pinaki, I have only experimented with bell peppers and I am not really aware of the best season to grow. With my limited experience, I would say you can grow it in the cooler months. At least in Chennai, it grows well only between August and March, when the temperature is comparatively low.
DeleteCapsicums seem to be quite hardy so I guess you don't have to worry too much about taking special precautions.