Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Monday, January 17, 2011

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The pinks











A closer look at the roses - The whites

The gardeners at the park told me I could go closer to the bushes, past the boundaries that separate the walkers from the garden area, so I grabbed the opportunity before they changed their minds.




Saturday, January 15, 2011

Roses

It is the season again! The neighbourhood park is full of roses in all imaginable colors.
At first i took pictures of the bushes from a distance -






Friday, January 14, 2011

The Book of Indian Butterflies

A beautiful white butterfly with black markings at the edges of its upperside wings flitted past me one morning this week, and over breakfast i was able to identify it as the common albatross, thanks due to Isaac Kehimkar's spectacular book - Butterflies of India, which came my way this new year.

Replete with pictures of some 700 odd butterflies found in the region, this book is indeed a fascinating add to any nature lovers collection. It is wonderful to be able to look through the pictures and descriptions and tell the difference between the crimson rose and the common rose, the common castor and the angled caster, the quirky pansies and many more. Isaac also shares thoughts on how to start and maintain a butterfly garden and gives information on the lifecycle and behaviours exhibited by butterflies.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Gandhi Nagar Tree Identification Guide

A neighbourhood guide to the trees in south Chennai is here! 'Gandhi Nagar Tree Identification Guide' has been published jointly by Nizhal and Siemens as part of the Go Green initiative between the two.

Meticulously compiled by Nizhal's volunteers, the guide is bound to be very useful for tree lovers residing anywhere. Not just does it describe the trees found in the neighbourhood, it helps the user identify the tree by taking her/him through a series of questions about the flowers, fruits and leaves of the tree.

To get your copy, email Nizhal or drop at note at their facebook page.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Gardens that heal

While all of us nature bloggers and enthusiasts are convinced of the therapeutic powers of the mere presence of trees and plants, I have to hand it to Shobha, Babu & team from Nizhal and Charlotte from the Raven Charitable Trust for leveraging this to full steam!

Shobha, Babu and the team at Nizhal in Chennai started out earlier in the year with greening the prison grounds in Chennai and in doing so, providing occupational therapy to the imnates. Horticulture has been a huge hit with the inmates and the program has now spread to the prisons in Cuddalore, Pudukottai, Trichy, Palyamkottai and Madurai! Join Nizhal on facebook and read more about the program.

Charlotte of the Galloping Gardener fame is also the founder of the Raven Charitable Trust in Rajasthan. She, along with others, has started the Disha hospital to provide healthcare to the rural poor. And come Febraury, Charlotte is off to Rajasthan to start a garden for Disha. Read all about it at Jardins sans Frontiers, her new blog.

Great going Shobha, Babu & Charlotte!! I hope to record more of your successes in the year to come.