My Garden journey so far.... (so good!)

First spring at my roof top Garden had been a total success.

Begonia lovely and beautiful, I fell in love at first sight when I saw it in the nursery:

                                          

China rose:- this small little plant is giving me flowers in abundence no demands, never had been fussy just needs lots of direct sunlight:

 I had loads and loads of chrysenthemums in my garden

It was so much of fun sitting on that chair enjoying the winter's sun and watching my chrysenthemums

 

I didnot had much success with dahalias but these are the three blooms I got from one single plant, I think they need lots of care, next time: 

These are the Gajanias they also gave me a lovely flowershow although around january end they got severely infected with Aphids:

These are the lovely geraniums,adorable lovely bunches of pink flowers which no body could ignore and every visitor to the garden had a word or two for them; sadly they also got infected with some disease which i couldnot identify, i sprayed them with mild soap water solution it helped but the blooms are not as they were:-

These are the marigold, put them as companions for the tomatoes, looking lovely with tomatoes arent they?

Sweet Alyssums kept them in my balcony they are giving us unending sweet fragrances from last three months:

Salvia

These are pansies, 4-5 plants in  one container, arent they looking lovely?

 I had been a plant lover always, but this is the first time that I am nurturing them myself. This is the first time I have a roof top garden and that too is coming up according to my ideas and wishes. In the year   2010 when we renovated our house and me, my husband and son shifted to a bigger room with a balcony the idea of terrace garden came up in my mind. Ours is a joint family so after the renovation the space constraint was all gone and first I ventured to make a balcony garden, so that whenever I look out of my window I can see greenery, then gradually with frequent trips to plant nursery and ever increasing collection of plants that space seemed smaller to me and I counted total terraces that we have, and hey we have four terraces in all so I took the one which is easily accessible from my room first for my ornamental roof top garden.

 hubby dear got the shed fixed up for the shade plants and garden furniture:-

 then I took the other terrace for my edible container garden:-

these are beans, chives, cabbages, tomatoes, radishes all on the roof top in containers.

these are peas, I dont know whether they will survive the hot weather approaching soon

my tomatoes in companion planting with onions

 The top most constraint with roof top gardening is carrying the soil upstairs, again hubby dear came to help, he got the green belt area in the side of the house cleared and fenced up so that I can plant more veggies over there.

here you can see him toiling hard to straighten up the fence  :)

I have grown lots of veggies in this area tomatoes,eggplants, beans, bitter gourd, round gourds, corn, greenies, fenugreek, spinach, cucumber, basil and marigold, so now i am gardening on land also, I do fear that i have planted too much and whether i would be able to have a good produce or not, but then this is my first time and I am learning, i will fare well, I always do.

Within this 5-6 months of starting gardening I am a happier and content person, I feel more closer to God when I am in my garden.

You won't believe this!

Posting after a long time. Actually there is so much going on in my garden and wanted to share it all here but after spending time over there no time left for blogging, but today have taken a resolution that I am sure going to  blog atleast once a week, want to be in touch with all and yes! want ur kind advices and comments too.

yesterday - 7th March something great and amazing happened and i would like to call it a miracle. So right from the time I am attacked by 'the gardening bug' and googling all the gardening blogs and websites I was in search for a kind bug called the lady bug, specially after my geraniums were attacked by aphids. I searched for the lady bug in my surroundings but couldnt find it so i  thought let it be and just wished that from its own, some day lady bugs will come and help me out with aphids(though i sprayed the plants with mild soap solution  meanwhile). thanx to the use of excessive pesticides and insecticides in my part of the world I could'nt find any.

Now the amazing part! yesterday was my birthday and I was just attending all the phone calls of loved ones and I felt tickling on my left palm and when I saw what it is?...... HEY! it was a cute little lady bug. I was overjoyed, I think it was my birthday gift from God, hmmmmmm.... I think God kinda likes me gardening. You know what, I hadnt been to my garden or anywhere out that morning I was just in my room attending phone calls. Here I have clicked the little one:-

I rushed to my terrace garden after clicking its picture to share with you all, while it was still exploring my palm to give it an idea of prospective food joints it can have at my roof top but some how it flew away when  I was rushing towards the stairs, I was so excited that time that i forgot that it will fly inbetween if I will not hold it by both the hands, well, well, well in the evening I saw two ladybugs on my geranium, So thank u dear God for the long wished for birthday gift.