Swagatham

Overwhelming Produce!!

2009-02-26T16:54:00.008-07:00

First crop of tomatoes.

Average produce over a week.

Doesn't that look pleasing to the eye.

Feast for the eyes..

Blooms from 2008

2009-02-26T16:35:00.005-07:00

Blooms from the plum tree.

Blooms from Dosakai Creeper.

Blooms from the creeper rose.

Blooms of Japanese Eggplant.

Sunflowers !

Thoota koora Pappu.

2009-02-26T16:21:00.004-07:00

The Ingredients for Thota koora Pappu.
Thota koora, Toor Daal

For Seasoning: Red Chillies, Fenu greek seeds,
Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, Urad Daal, Garlic, Turmeric,
Canola oil

Thota koora pappu with Neyyi (Clarified Butter).
Awesome combination.

Home made food from garden fresh produce.

2008-08-01T22:12:00.014-07:00

Dosa Aavakai, A very savoury pickle. This pickle has shorter shelf life. But it can be stored in the refredgirator for a little longer.

A Pickle made with Dosakai.
Other ingredients include:
Powdered mustard seeds.
Salt,
Chili Powder
Lemon Juice
Cumin Seeds
Canola Oil
Garlic

Welcome Visitors.

2008-07-20T15:52:00.007-07:00

Meet the most frequent visitors to our little yard. There are about 6 of these desert lizards. They love to play around in the back yard. On a nice sunny day we would spot them relaxing in group in the Porch looking at the garden. Most people would these creepy crawlies very iky but we adore them. I always admire how well they have been designed to live in the desert.

This is a Gold finch a common bird one would find in the desert here.

They look very similar to the common Indian sparrow. This guy would perch on the roof top

everyday during spring and chirp his favourite tunes.

Meet Mom, She has little nest in one of the Brazilian pepper trees.

She would find the food for her 3 young chicks from the some where. You can see that she has

a tasty morsel in her beak, she saved that for her babies. She would refuse to feed the young in our presence. Hats off to the mother !!

I simply love the Color of this dragon fly. These little guy visits us every single day. In fact there are a bunch of these, they made our yard their home. We often wonder about the

completeness of the Eco system our garden creates.

Need i say more about the Bees & Sun Flowers.

Very First Egg Plant ..And weekend Harvest

2008-07-19T18:08:00.008-07:00

Here is a well groomed presentation of the produce & flowers.

Here is today's produce. The first egg plant. 3 Japanese egg plants, Thota koora (Will be good for curry or Pappu), Thota koora kaadalu (Good for Pulusu),Malle puvvulu (Jasmine), sun flowers, Bendakayalu and tomatoes.

This year so far i got 6 cantaloupes. About 60 Pounds of Tomatoes,
and a few pounds of thota koora, about 1 pound of Okra.

Tell me what do you think about it ?

Garden Art

2008-07-18T19:31:00.010-07:00

Well Well .. What is a garden with out a piece of Art?
Don't you think gardening is an art, science and nirvana ?
I do enjoy many styles of garden art.

Desert style, Victorian Style, Japanese style and of course the Indian style ;). The desert style is really what goes Well in the Desert.
Desert style is about the Creepy Crawly metal art, terracotta SUN, Lizards, Silhouettes of Road runners and quails. Here in the desert people Love the cactus flowers, humming birds, Cowboy art.Well its all about the rustic style... The garden art I have bare minimum. A terracotta sun,
2 terracotta tortoises, One of which serves as a pot for Succulents. I find the garden art at Walgreens both affordable and beautiful.

If you grew up in India you would know Terracotta has a very special place in your life.
My grandmother used to have terracotta pots filled with water and stored away in a dark corner of the room . Beneath the pot was some sand that helped the pot stay in place with out wobbling and also help keep the drinking water cool.
Now that's a great and green Idea.

My mother used terracotta pots to set some yogurt. The pot absorbed the extra water in the yogurt and gave the yogurt a nice firm body. Most people in India even today use terracotta pottery for storing food , water and to grow plants.

More Blooms ...

2008-07-16T23:00:00.006-07:00

By now it must be apparent that i do not get tired of describing about my little garden.

Let me tell you about one unusual flower to grow in Phoenix Arizona.

Here in the Valley of sun the humidity levels are generally low, except during monsoon. And typically we have 360 sunny days in a year.

In Jan 2007 during one visit to Lowes we decided to get some Tulip bulbs. We got it for a reasonable price. We came home and planted these bulbs in a area where it would not get more that 6 hrs of sunlight. In about 2 weeks the waxy leaves that looked all cuddled up into one stem started to show. Slowly the leaves started to uncurl from the centre. The plants grew relatively quickly. And then we realized almost all the bulbs we sowed were ready to bloom.

I must admit the heat took its toll on these flowers pretty soon . Although these lasted for a short time. It was a feast to the eyes.

Flowers from our Backyard

2008-07-15T21:54:00.004-07:00

Over past few years we grew some flowers in the backyard. A few Annuals & a few Perennials. The flowers were great hostess to the the bees , dragon flies, Humming birds and many other kinds of bugs and birds. I was always happy that it kind of provided a little field trip experience to my kids everyday.

About 3 years ago we spread some sun flower seeds in the backyard. The seeds we got were "Wild flower mix for Arizona". The label on the box said that these flowers would invite a lot of birds. I must admit we had a lot of 2 winged visitors ever since. Every spring since 2006 we have had tall, bright , big and beautiful Sunflowers. The blooms started in Spring and lasted almost through fall. Some of these plants grew to be almost 6 to 7 ft tall.
When the Big head of sunflower peeped over the concrete walls to the street .. Almost felt like some one was eve's dropping.

This flower is no stranger to anybody who has had a chance to visit India. Yes it is Jasmine

or Malle Puvvulu. The striking white blooms with very strong fragrance. I would put together a handful of these into "Gajra" or "Malle puvvu maala" occasionally as an offering to Deity. I have had these plants for about 6 & 1/2 years. For a few years i grew them in containers and then transferred them to ground. These Plants like acidic soil,bright Sun. They are low maintenance plants they shed a few leaves, which means less cleaning. Every Spring after the fear of Frost is gone. We strip off the leaves from the plant and keep the soil moderately moist. In a weeks time the new leaves start to appear. And soon these flowers appear and fill the surroundings with a pleasant scent.

Today's Harvest

2008-07-13T22:23:00.005-07:00

Today's Harvest : 2 Cantaloupe, 2 Cucumbers, 4 Pounds of tomatoes, 3 Indian Squash (Dosakailu). Tell me what you think about it.

దూస కాయి లు

2008-07-13T22:07:00.002-07:00

మా ఇంట్లో కాసిన దూస కాయిలు మల్లె పువ్వులు మరయు ప్రోదుట తిరుగుడు (సన్ flower) .

My first day as a blogger

2008-07-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

About us : We are not experienced Gardners. Here is a little of What happened by chance and a Little of what we intended. At the end of each day, we grew as gardners along with the plants in our garden. Every day when we

look at the broad and bright green leaves of some these plants, we feel great that they generate Oxygen, provide shelter for birds and bugs and give us fresh Produce. All that you need to grow a healthy individual.

And now Here are a few Pictures from Our garden.

From the spring of 2008 We got busy preparing the raised beds to start a vegetable garden.
We really did not have much of a plan as to what we would grow. After preparing 2 Boxes with the wood planks we got from Lowes, We filled it with Garden soil and mulch.

While it was still kind of chilly here in Arizona in February we started throwing in all the vegetable wastes from the kitchen into the raised beds.

One fine day morning after cutting up a cantaloupe we dumped the peels & seeds into the raised beds.
Soon these seeds sprouted, and not long before they started growing big and strong. After a few Weeks we got our first Cantaloupes. The first harvest of 3 Cantaloupes were not the size you get a Grocery store. About 1/4 th the size of a regular cantaloupe.

We bought a few saplings of strawberries, Tomato and Sweet Peas from Target.

We distributed them between the two boxes. Not knowing how overwhelming it would turn out after a while.

We got a few Cages to support the Tomato and Pea plants.While it was still kind of cold in February and March, the sweet pea started to Bloom.

The Blooms were a beautiful Snow White. These flowers do resemble the Exotic Orchids. Here enjoy a few of those Sweet Pea Flowers.

Transformation from flowers to Beautiful Peas. We did not have a Huge crop of Peas. But my son enjoyed them straight from the plant.

These Peas were sweet and had a nice body unlike the frozen sweet peas.