Green thumb?

I love plants. I remember my mother growing all sorts of plants during my childhood. The fact that my dad had a transferable job did not stop her, nor did the fact that we really did not have a backyard. She was a great container gardner. And when we did have a backyard for gardening, there was no stopping her. I guess I get my love of gardening from my mother. I certainly did not inherit her creative talent but I did inherit her love of gardening and love for animals. Which is why living in an apartment in Banglore and having a pretty hectic work schedule did not stop me from having a balcony garden. The one thing I hated to leave behind when we moved from Bangalore (apart from my maid) was this garden. Even now, I sometimes think about those plants and how they are doing. Wonder if the apartment gardener to whom I turned the plants over took good care of them.

Now here in the northwest corner of the US of A, I hanker for a nice garden. Knowing my love of plants, Adi got me a beatiful Gardenia. It had such nice glossy dark green leaves. It was supposed to be easy to grow, but I managed to kill it in a few weeks. That is when I realised that the flora in this part of the world is different from that at home and so is the climate. Here we have seasons - not just one or two seasons like we have back home; where it is tropical all though the year. Which means having a garden is a lot more work.

I am finally ready for it. On a recent trip to Sequim with a friend, I found this lady selling pots of Holy Basil aka Tulsi. My mind flashed back to how my mom always had a Tulsi plant and how my grandad put a few Tulsi leaves in his "theertham" every day. I could not resist the temptation to give a pot of Tulsi a good home. I was very apprehensive about my ability to keep this plant alive and well. But thanks to the good summer we have been having this year and a healthy dose of luck, my Tulsi is not only alive, but thriving. The success of my Tulsi plant has prompted me to think about what else I can grow. Forget the ornamental plants, I am thinking about growing my own kitchen garden. In containers of course. So I did some research and found out that Swiss Chard, one of my favourite greens, is quite perfect for container growing. More good news, it is quite hardy and tolerant of colder temperatures. Which makes gorwing it my next project. Imagine having fresh picked greens for every meal. Yummm... now all I have to do is head to the nursery and get me some swiss chard. I hope I am as successful with chard as I was with Tulsi.