Preparing for the tropical winter blooms

As time flies we try to prepare the small roof top pots with soil, manure and seedlings. The race with time is same as with everything else. You always feel, wish we had started earlier. Anyway, luckily some of our permanent trees have come up with their colours and the last white, non-scented jasmines also fill their shrub tree. Some of the decade old bougainvillea bushes bearing all your happiness and sorrows also start to bloom at this time while the new ones just start anew, including the yellow allamanda seedling, in the freshly prepared soil. So this is a season for both young and old and ofcourse the seasonal collection!!! Of the seasonal plants the budding 'mums' are the first to open up too, the whites and off-whites paving the way. It's lovely to watch how the 'mum' varieties bud and burst into their colours in an enthusiastic, ecstatic and overwhelming manner hiding their tiny plants. Just look at the burst of yellow as it brings its glow!! And slowly how they end up in glass vases in your home bringing with them their simple warmth and brightness to your homes!.

Tropical Balcony "Greens"

Now, that the monsoons have cleared off, the tropical autumn clouds are piling up since August. I must also mention, that's when we had a chance to visualize the true "once in a blue moon" moon, appearing twice this August. Suddenly, I felt how was it that the moon keeps appearing big, until I saw the reports of the true blue moon appearing this August. Well, as we wait for the winter blooms to fill with their colours, have a peep at the balcony greens in charisma, displaying their various structures and forms. The earlier once had flowers during the monsoons, the later ones stayed just green and kept creeping, long after the rains disappeared. They are just a pleasure now since we are passing through some warmest times of the year yet they fill the balconies with soothing green creeping all over, while my roof top garden waits to be pruned, manicured, manured and made ready for the winter seedlings. So right now, we have all our efforts set for lining up the majestic Marigolds, Dahlias and not to forget the crispy 'mums' in all their robust colors. As we wait, have a look at the balcony greens........

Delicate monsoon blossoms appear fresh and white...

As monsoon rains take the summer heat away, not only do they bring down rain, but cleanse and wash away the summer fatigue and heat. As we watch nature, it is fresh and more so depicted by the fresh white delicate blossoms. Leading among them, hanging like dainty ear hangings, are clusters of delicate, "Rangoon Creepers" along with all kinds fresh 'monsoon whites'. The green in nature is special too, all sorts of clean green are seen, as all kinds of  'rain creepers' along with shrubs and bushes grow fast, they give nature its ornamental touch. I couldn't at the moment display the 'night jasmines' or the sweet scented orange jasmines as they too bloom heavily during this season with bursts of evening fragrances in between the downpours. An evening or a fresh early morning walk is so special at this time of the year, that one shouldn't miss it. Not only to watch the 'mystical monsoon sky' but also to watch the night sky with it's fascinating clouds, collecting and floating past.  In the evenings, as the moisture laden breeze brushes by you, followed by the light touch of a fragrance, filled with sweet scents from the night monsoon blooms that enchant you, as if bringing secret messages from far and near.

Washed by the "Monsoon Rains"......

Yes, this is the season when the entire nature and man-made cities are first bathed and washed, then inundated fearlessly. So, I shall only display the beauty of the monsoons and spare the disasters to be reported on the news for the readers. To begin with, is the enchanting monsoon sky by the night. Then, as the clouds gather, and build up slowly, they cover the entire sky, moving and collecting moisture, by the day, they travel further on.  Moving on then, the clouds turn gray and dark to darker, then ofcourse slowly the entire sky is a wet canvas, and then comes the downpour..... then later on more rain and rain, then the deluge comes when the rains are fierce and incessant. I keep to the spirit of the monsoons as they began a month and a half ago and as romantic as many a writers' have written about and leading amongst them is Tagore, whose longing for nature takes us through the rural riverine Bengal and the seasons and most of all the monsoons, through its melodies, the sound of rains, the longings of the floating clouds, their travels to a timeless zone, or the dance of the winds and clouds, beauty depicted through the rythm of dancers, in so many ways that one can sit in awe travelling through memory lanes and watching the rains.....  

Summer green is made more special by 'Green on green"

Mangoe trees--Watch the trees bear spring blossoms to summer fruits below

The dense blooming greens happen to be the summer habitat for the visiting birds.....

"Green on green"

Green is very special in the summer. Washed by the rains even in the full heat of peak summer, there's a whole varitety of green around. And more so 'green on green', just take a look. The big trees are in full bloom and not forgetting the most favourite tropical fruit the mangoe trees with their fruits are ready too. Compare with the mangoe blossoms in spring and now take a look at the green-fruit-filled trees. You are not visitng a mangoe orchard but these are just roof-top-snapshots. Mangoes have been native of south Asia, including Burma and the Indian subcontinent, historically dating back more than 2000 BC as the olives have been natives of the Mediterranean region, Greece, south of Italy and France. As with the olives in that region, we kind of have a 'Mangoe culture' too.  Green mangoes in cooking, drinks, salads, lentil soups, then mangoes making the summer a season for pickling. Finally, arrive the ripe mangoes in the peak of summer heat, in all sizes, shapes and shades of yellow-oranges, with fresh mangoe fragrances. We live the summer heat indulging in ripe mangoes from breakfast to desserts including sometimes even whole meals !! Mangoes, excluding the extra-sugar part are healthy fruits too, containing multiple vitamins A, C, and E, with antioxidant properties and minerals. It's not only us that are aware of that, I guess, watch the summer flocks, the beautiful summer birds watching over the mangoes, they heavily nest the mangoe and blossomed summer trees as these provide both their food and shelter. Some of them were secretly caught in the camera.