The desire to be able to write fiction lingers on somewhere in a corner of my mind. The fact that I'm more of a non-fiction writer with occasional glib one-liners is something I am not willing to accept just yet. My sorry sporadic attempts to still try my hand at fiction writing is often evident from certain blog posts on C'est la vie where I continue to inflict pain upon my readers as much as I love them. Every time I finish writing any such piece, it turns out to be a dark, depressing one which makes one wonder whether it was just a fragment of the writer's imagination or a reflection of her life. I choose to leave this question unanswered, more out of mischief than to create intrigue. I try to figure out what is it that inspires my posts (read incomplete fiction pieces) and what is it that gives them such a sullen, dark quality. All I can come up with is that it could be an overdose of Stephen King, Clive Barker and Dean R. Koontz during my growing years. A simpler and more realistic answer would be that I'm incapable of writing a decent narrative and my imaginary tales will always be laced with fragments of my nightmares which I do have frequently, bits and pieces of horror/thriller novels that I read at an age when I shouldn't have and my obsession with all psychopath thrillers. I realize that this confession is not coming out very well nor is it a good idea to even confess it on the cyber world where all the predators might be 'lurking in the shadows'. Somehow, like everything else, this fear too has failed to stop me from doing so continually.
In sharp contrast to what I wrote here, I do want to share one of my favourite things to do, yet another post which has been due for the past week. Sometimes when I leave from work on time and I don't have too many errands to run on my way back, I like to frequent the local nurseries, a term used here for Garden Centres. A very long time back my claim to fame was killing plants, till out of sheer stubbornness, just the sort that I show in everything else, I developed a 'green thumb' one fine day. I write one fine day only because it has a nice ring to it. Truth is it took a lot of time, dedication and hard work, not to forget my friend Pinky's mentoring and my other friend Google's prompt solutions for all problems.
As a result, today I'm quite the avid gardener, now known for being able to revive dying plants and for creating a green niche in every spot possible. At times, early morning when I'm watering my indoor plants before leaving for work, I look at their growing numbers and foresee children calling me the crazy plant lady one day. Coming back to what the 'crazy plant lady' is often upto in the evenings, not only do I go plant hunting, I also take countless photos while doing so. The guys over there are quite used to my strange antics, so no worries there. Once there, it's like another world - calm, serene and oh so beautiful! One tends to forget the day-to-day problems and just drifts towards this oasis of calm. Scorching heat is what I often face on most of my expeditions, however, the last few days have been pleasant - cloudy, with a gentle breeze giving out full signals of rain to come very soon, which of course deserves another blog post.
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The Ocean Mall peers through the trees and the weather is absolutely gorgeous!
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It would be unfair not to share the absolutely amazing experience that I had the two times I went plant shopping last week. And to think the quest started with trying to get a few Dracaena Reflexa or more popularly known as Song of India (although local nursery wallas insist on calling it Song of Thai). I also had been longing to get my hands on a Silversand plant. The fact that I rubbed the leaves too hard in order to smell the fragrant plant and had an allergic reaction as a result is another story, the details of which are definitely NOT worth sharing.
I would suggest however, that if time permits, do take out a few minutes from your schedule and just take a stroll where these plants await with all their lushness and beauty. No house is too small for a gentle doze of greenery. You don't have to be a knowledgeable gardener to be able to enjoy them and keep them alive. There are plenty of plants that are hardy and very low maintenance - cacti, succulents, papyrus (umbrella plant) and many more. I of course do not claim to be the authority on horticulture, for that my dear readers, there's always good ol' Pasha, my friend! But well, we can all try even if we are not celebrity gardeners or have acres of land just for our green patch. Container gardening rocks too!
And now for some eye candy!
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| The few plants I bought which were quite enough to appease my voracious appetite for this month despite the lack of space. Silversand, Song of India, a Croton variety popularly known as Limo Croton and my Goosefoot plant (Singonium) peering through |
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Rows of delight
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| The orange trumpets that we used to wear on our fingers as little girls and pretended we were witches :) Then we grew older and didn't have to pretend anymore ;) |
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| The latest addition to the family |
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| It was right over our heads and I found it beautiful. What's anyone gonna do about that? |
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My dream pathway with my favourite Tekoma plant with its lovely trumpet shaped orange blossoms
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