WORTH THE WAIT

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

01/II/2025

 

This year our garden has not seen many flowers. However, our focus changed and we tried to bring things up a little differently. A fresh experiment you can say. The path was not easy, but it didn’t deter us.

 

What was the change from the previous years? I shall explain as I go. The trigger to write this article was the first bloom or our first child this year. It is still a baby ‘mum’ and a bonny one at that.

 

Earlier, we used to visit nurseries and pick up plants at near flowering stage. Most of them used to have at least one bloom to choose from. At times, we used to get lucky to get two different colours in one pot. A keen eye can get you a bonus.

 

Thereon, with some care we would see that plant flowering throughout the season. Once dormant, special care and maintenance has to be ensured for it to bloom in its next season.

 

Last year however was very tough on us as well as the plants. A severe summer, followed by incessant rains got the better of them. Not that we left any effort to make them comfortable and safe but then nature can be harsh and takes its toll. We had a lot of heart break moments, especially when one by one the hibiscus collection started vanishing due to the vagaries of weather beyond our control.

 

Forty plants dying is no joke. It meant a loss of forty different colours, collected from multiple nurseries over the years. Some plants had been with us for more than seven to eight years. We were shaken up from within. How hard we tried saving them but alas!

 

On second thoughts, they had probably lived their age and given us the utmost happiness. They wanted to give way to newer plants in our garden. I can only thank them for the joy they brought not only to us but to so many passers by and garden admirers. They got photographed and shall stay in our memories forever.

 

For a gardener, to have one pot empty is an eye sore and when there were forty plus. Now was the time to try out something new and different and fill them up. The journey would be arduous and full of risks. Losses were anticipated but our love for plants got us to replace the voids.

 

Over the years one has tried various vendors. Amazon was one but most of the live plants got battered and damaged. Some of them do survive and reach the flowering stage but the struggle for both the plant and the gardener is quite uncomfortable and a long journey. One runs out of patience.

 

Some vendors are prompt and deliver quality plants through a good courier service. They were shortlisted over a period of time and tested for what they show and what they actually send. At the first glance, a plant lover understands the quality of the plant received. Tagging and packing speak volumes of the vendor's passion to deliver the best. Gut feeling too comes into play. Soon, trust develops.

 

I realised, August is too hot a month for online plants. They go into shock in ware/store houses due to the heat. Perishability becomes high. Saplings need to be handled with care till repotting and thereafter.

 

Then there was a lull in ordering. By the time temperatures calmed, we were in the month of October. That is when I decided to get into action again. In the meantime, a potting mix was prepared for the new arrivals. Soil was rested and given adequate time to rejuvenate. Manure, ranging from cow dung compost, vermi compost and leaf compost was kept handy. My soil mix is 30% garden soil and 20% of each of the above.

 

The most important thing to remember in gardening is a well drained soil and the hole at the bottom of the pot which is supposed to be maintained properly, so that excess water can drain out. If it gets choked, which an inspection will show, especially during or after the first heavy rain. The clogged hole needs to be opened or else roots of the plant go into a root rot situation, if too much water stagnates in the pot.

 

Last year, I started receiving plants from nurseries across India. Baby Chrysanthemums and grafted hibiscus were shortlisted. They came as one inch/nine inch saplings and are about two feet now. Most of the plants are showing buds, much to our relief. The first ‘mum’ has flowered. I hope to see the ‘Ellis’ Garden’ as a riot of colours in a fortnight.

 

How many new colours and varieties are in store and worth the wait for? I wonder!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS