Winter Blues

Its really getting cold in Pune. The weather report indicates very chilly days ahead (see the weather widget). The coldest tonight is 11 degrees Centigrade (52 degrees Fahrenheit) - which is too cold by my standards and the bad news is that it is going to get even colder. My friends in other parts of the world scoff at this 'winter' - but for me on the receiving end of this blistering cold - its no laughing matter.

The plants however do not seem to mind the weather so far. I have made some changes in the flower beds and grouped the plants a little better. I had Zinnias growing randomly all over - those are all now aggregated into a nice little clump. The three large clumps of Balsam have been left undisturbed. The Gazanias, Aster, Salvia and Dianthus have all been arranged together. I am still experimenting with the new look and trying to figure out a good combination of front, middle and back row plants. I will post a few pics once everything settles down.

I have a few plants that need to be planted: A Golden Champa (Magnolia champaca) bonsai tree that needs to be potted, a red Hibiscus and a plant which is locally called Tagar - and I believe the botanical name is Tabernaemontana Coronaria - but this needs confirmation. The Champa will go in my terrace on the top floor while the other two plants will be planted in the front lawn.

I recently added freshly composted organic manure to the front and back lawns. The first couple of days, the front lawn was just completely covered in this black layer which is now slowly settling into the ground and getting assimilated into the soil. The earthworms are really going to feast on it. I am hoping to get the lawn greener without having to use inorganic fertilizers - let's see how it works out.

And oh yeah, I want to thank all those cows and horses out there, without whose continuous support, none of this would have been possible :-)