LIFE AS IT IS

  Okras grown in our garden This summer is our first summer, vegetable-gardening. Well, we actually began in spring. The initial investment was in soil, seeds, seedlings, and pots to start seeds. Doing something for the first time has elements of excitement as well as doubt - you do not know if you will become successful. There are so many factors that are at play - seed quality, soil quality, rainfall, temperature, light intensity, et cetera!  Here in this post, you are seeing a photo of freshly picked okras. When our okra plants first bore flowers, we were over the moon but only to discover that the flowers withered and fell to the ground. I do not remember exactly when I saw that the flowers were turning into vegetables, but you can guess that it was the day when my husband and I began to believe in ourselves and that our hard work would to pay off. If you did not know, okra is a self-pollinating plant.  We have four okra plants in our backyard now - tall and healthy with bristly st

Habanero pepper is one of the very hot varieties of chili pepper. It is believed to have originated in the the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.  If you love hot and spicy food and sauce, this flavorful and aromatic variety is a right kind for you! But the heat could be too much for some people to consume and direct contact with skin can result in what is called pepper burning. I personally have experienced this last week when I broke a tiny bit from a habanero pepper. I soaked my hand in cold water but that did not help much, so I googled to find out what could give me some relief and applied everything from rubbing alcohol, cold milk to castor oil and dishwashing soap. I don’t know which one of these worked but the pain subsided after two hours. I am not writing all of this to discourage you - if you love hot and spicy foods, you will definitely love habanero pepper, just be careful about how much you are adding to your dish.  We bought a small seedling from Home Depot, a home improvement

My maroon lily plants just bore their last flower. It’s going to be another long wait before they start blooming again next year. I guess it’s the wait and the anticipation that make a gardener’s wait through the fall and winter seasons bearable - you know that in spring, your garden will start putting on a smile and in summer, your backyard will smile from ear to ear. What a joy, what a joy it is when trees sprout new leaves, and perennials peek through the soil in April! For now, enjoy the last maroon daylily of my garden sway in the summer breeze! 

ঢেঁড়স ফুল। What would that be in English? Okra blossom/ flower? I love okras or lady’s fingers, so does my family! But did I know what their flowers looked like? Nay, I did not, until now, because now I have okra plants in my backyard! I am loving my first-time journey into vegetable gardening. I am learning brand new things daily. In the past, I only enjoyed my fruits and veggies, but I knew very little about the long journey they made from seeds to mature fruits. Vegetable gardening has taught me to appreciate the food I eat more than ever!   

I usually don’t pluck flowers. When I do pick flowers, I do it because there is inclement weather in the forecast! The photos below are from my home. The flowers? They are from my little backyard. If you have a backyard or even a balcony, consider having your own garden - you will never regret it!