Checking in to our Fort Cochin Hotel, the friendly staff invited us to relax in the garden while waiting for our room. We didn’t need an invitation – I was already out there craning my neck to see what caused the dappling in the courtyard. It was an enormous mango tree, and as I looked up something caught my eye. There was someone sitting on a branch, a very long way up. Continue reading “Mango tree of Fort Cochin”
Tag: India
Of spice and tea
As someone who came to the study of landscape history from a love of flowers and gardening, I write surprisingly little about horticulture. So, to make amends, this whole post is about some of the plants we saw on our recent trip to the southern Indian state of Kerala. Continue reading “Of spice and tea”
The Rock Garden at Chandigarh
It started in 1965 as an illegal development on protected forest land. Its creator was inspired by Le Corbusier’s use of concrete in the city of Chandigarh, yet what he produced is folk art that stands in extraordinary contrast to Corbusier’s modernist city. For the first ten years of its life, it was entirely secret, its existence known only to the lowly government worker who was behind its painstaking creation. Today it hosts thousands of paying visitors every day, and the site and its creator receive countless awards and regular international press coverage. Continue reading “The Rock Garden at Chandigarh”
Basils – sacred and fragrant
Over the weekend I purchased a Tulasi plant (Ocimum tenuifolium, prev Ocimum sanctum) known as sacred, or holy basil. The plant is renowned as the most sacred of Indian plants, having great medicinal properties as well as being highly auspicious to have in the garden. Continue reading “Basils – sacred and fragrant”
An Indian Adventure
I’ve been asked to write about our experiences (plus some plant info!) on our recent trip to India. Our third visit to India (it won’t be the last) and each time somewhere different – it was to Assam first for just over a week and then down south to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Continue reading “An Indian Adventure”