The Curfew Diaries from Sri Lanka goes garden fresh
We take so much for granted, when all you need is a bit of time to look around you, to make serendipitous discoveries
Did you know that Sri Lanka (formally known as Ceylon, of Tea Fame) was once called Serendib? Its name (originally from the Arab name for the island) actually added a word to the English language by Horace Walpole, writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician (1717 – 1797).
And that word, was serendipity. Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. And it's what this garden is – serendipitous.
Come along for a quick look...
Our garden has earned a reputation for taking seeds offered by birds and monkeys and the next thing we know, we've got plants sprouting all over the place. This year, we've had to give more than seven mango tree saplings to friends and relatives.
When this curfew is over, these three mango sappling will have to be given away too
Now don't get the wrong idea. We are not gardeners by any stretch of imagination. We stick things into the ground and magic happens. As you could imagine, no weedicides are used and fertiliser is generally sweepings, piled up around the base of the plants...
Long Beans and a mess! But the beans are tasty.
When you least expect them, mulberry pop up!
⬆️Not the ideal subject for a thousand piece jigsaw, for sure, but our chillies pack a punch. They're green, as in unripe, right now, but turn a really fiery red when ripe. Spot them if you can!
Waiting for this little guy to grow up! A slightly more mature papaw plant.
Oranges and Lemons... And Apricot! Our citrus plants are not as bountiful as we expected, but maybe they're still a bit immature.
Yes, I realise our garden is a bit bigger than most, even out here in the burbs, and we're better off than most and yet, it never ceases to surprise.
During the fruit season, the garden is most visited and used by a wide variety of birds and of course, the neighbourhood troop of monkeys, and we actually get very little produce. But the veg, the chilli, the herbs and the leafage are kept for us mere mortals. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Hope you enjoyed this little wander around the garden. You'd probably know, by now, that all credit goes to nature – and we just plonk things down and hope for the best!
And here's a hat tip to all who looked after this little bit of paradise before we took over: Marie, that's for You and Abs!
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Comments (12)
looks amazin'!
Wish I could get some seeds from them chilli's though...I have a fair collection in the making here in blighty at the moment :)
Thanks CC. Wonder if they would survive a postal journey...? That would have to happen only after our post office opened up. C-19 has got that service sealed too.
Wow amazing!
What a wonderful garden 👌🏻 really enjoyed reading this🌹
Thanks Zahra, Au Naturale seems to be the way forward! 😁
Wow, it looks pretty and amazing how the soil and weather in Sri Lanka is so fruitful! I had to Google papaw, I never heard about it before 😅. Do you have any pictures of the monkeys, eating the fruits of your garden 😆?
Sorry about the Papaw... The Boss said I should have written Papaya. She was right (as usual). You would have thought that I would have learnt after all this time! 😂 Watch this space for the monkeys...
Posting this from the phone so can’t exactly see if the right picture - and of course they’re not eating. But it’s the first outing of a baby. ALL the adults were checking me out while I took the shot!