What's spring without some gardening..

(The carnations in the background survived winter. And my froggy friends are finally sunbathing)

So I gave in and got myself a few geraniums. It was very hard to pass by the local florist and whisper to myself to not give in to temptation. Now, my balcony is happy, so am I. 

Lavender, from the plant to a pouch.

Today, I decided to cut the dried stalks of lavender from the garden. I wanted to make a little bag of the dry flowers.

Ms A came to my rescue. She had just the pouch which she had made in her art class. A pretty pouch with purple polka dots, PERFECT!!!

We trimmed the stalks together and dropped the flowers in.

Once done, I added a personal touch. 

I drew some purple lavender flowers and LOVED how it looked.

There are some more flowers blooming. I hope they are enough to make a second pouch.

For now, this one hangs just above my bed with the heady scent of lavender wafting through the room.

Growing Indian greens.

Are you an Indian expat pining for your favorite greens from back home?

Methi(fenugreek), konpir(Coriander), Sarson(mustard) etc..

Then stop pining and go grow some.

Yes, you heard me right!

(All pics clicked by my soon to be 10 year old..:-))

All you need is a little space, a garden pot, some mud and seeds(I got them from India and am sure every Indian expat household will have them in their spice containers. For the above pot, I used 75 gms of fenugreek seeds).

Now is the time to take advantage of the summer, warmth and sunshine and get these greens growing. And trust me, it's not hard. This is my second harvest and the third one is on its way. The family and I are thoroughly enjoying our home grown greens that I am thinking of maybe freezing them for winter. If I figure out a way, I will let you know. Till then, get that patch growing.

P.S: You can get used garden pots at flea markets or Intakt for cheap, new garden pots at OBI. Bags of mud/earth are available at any florist(there are 2 in Lohr) or at OBI. Place the mud in the pot, sprinkle the seeds and pour a very thin layer of mud on top of them. Place the pot in a spot with plenty of sunshine and water once a day. You will see green sprouts in 3 to 4 days. Allow it to grow for as long as you want. I let it grow for 3 to 4 weeks.

Lavender and bees

The weekend's gone. It was very beautiful, sunny and lazy.

For a change we didn't go anywhere. 

I lazed around and spent lots of time with my prettiness..:-) along with lots of tea!!

If they did count the cups of tea that I downed, my neighbor's must have been really wondering what must be wrong with me.

The lavender flowers are finally blooming. There are quite a few of them. 

The ceramic heart with the lavender flower print was a gift from my kids.

They won a gift hamper from a small shop and this is what they surprise me with instead of buying something for themselves. It looks pretty on the garden table.

Now hubby's waiting for his surprise from the kids...:D

For the past 3 days, I also have been having a lone visitor to my garden. Can you spot Mr bumble bee up there? He spends about an hour going from flower to flower searching for his share of nectar. I wonder where is the bee hive cause that's where he is taking all my honey!!

Prettiness!!!

Right now, I have tremendous respect to all those who blog diligently!! Yes, all those who are working moms, on the go, travel all over the world, maybe sick or ill and yet, pause to pen in a few words. While so many of my posts are still in drafts, as the days go by, I find it extremely hard to stop by and blog. So many thoughts, so much to tell, yet I wonder, whether my time management skills have gone for a toss.

All you bloggers out there, what is the secret? I want to know.

Coming back to today's post, I want to show you prettiness!!!

or that's what my friends commented when I posted a few pictures on Facebook.

We were on the hunt for the right garden furniture and we finally found it on Saturday at the store where I buy all my plants, OBI.

This is my seat...:-) Right next to my dream patch. When I began work on the garden in March I had a picture in mind as to what I wanted. I am so glad I achieved it. The corner with all the green and color feels like a tiny patch of earth with new life springing out. The mint bush in there has such a heady scent, it feels real good. The lavender flowers(long stalks you see) should be blooming in a few days.

This is how it looks from our living room. More prettiness..:-)

Since I set it all up, it has been raining cats and dogs and so very cold.

I am yet to sit in there with my piping hot cup of morning tea or a glass of wine in the evening.

Till then, I take delight in the color and pray to the rain gods to please leave us alone.

By us I mean, my prettiness and me..:D