Leela's Garden & Kitchen

New Arch and gate built by Gardner Crape Myrtle tree (Hope it is ok  in next spring) Persimmon tree in Mississippimiss I hired a helper to trim the trees and do some leveling of the stones for the vegetable garden.  I spent some money for gravel and garden soil . I am getting ready for next spring. I went to pick some persimmons in  Mississippi.

Begonia shared by my  senior rider Knock out roses blooming whole summer I think this is Mexican sunflower (perennial) Fall mums Angel Trumpet Papaya plant from compost  Persimmon  Wrapped persimmon to keep birds away Pansies on the deck  I did not do much garden work recently.  It is cold last week but it is going to be warmer again before winter. I have some fall mums, angel trumpets, roses in the garden.  I still get some peppers, sorrel and some beans.  I got the yellow angel trumpet plant from Texas and white trumpet plant is from the seed.  I am happy that the angel trumpet plants are perennial.  

Avocado from  California Blue Jay on our deck Curry leaves plants in my cousin house. Vegetables from my garden Chameli flowers P Pears from my garden Curry leaves plant  Donda kayalu from moms garden .  It is a vine and stays even in winter. I went to California for my uncle daughter's wedding.  I stayed with my mom for a few days and visited my cousin's garden.  I enjoyed the weather in California better than Alabama.  It is nice to visit but I do not want to live there.  I miss writing in my blog but in Birmingham we have no rain from a long time.

propagating jasmine and Persian shield plants fall clematis sweet basil ready to be separated persimmons

sweet basil bell pepper We  are going to make pizza tomorrow using the garden vegetables.  We will use tomato, basil, bell peppers from the garden.

Squirrel trying to eat bird seeds creeping jenny under the persimmon tree Today is a hot day and I stayed inside.  I am trying to propagate Jasmine plant and Persian shield plants. My daughter made fig tart and pear tart which are delicious. I still get some figs and a lot of pears from the garden. I planted only three okra plants and I get only one or two okras.  I get a lot of tomatoes,some bell peppers  and some Chinese beans which are very long.  I am already busy cooking with garden vegetables.  I do not like to use any chemical sprays for the bugs and so far the plants look healthy.  My mom is visiting me and she is in the backyard and she got bitten by a lot of mosquitoes.  My daughter got a mosquito repellent with Eucalyptus oil but we forgot to spray it on her. When I went to India in June 2007, I got sick with Dengue fever and recovered from that fever.  This year I went to India, I went during March when they have less mosquitoes.  I should worry about West nile

Chinese lantern plant bellpepper angel trumpet or Datura  I am excited because Figs are ready to pick them.  I have been picking them.  The birds are eating them but we have enough to enjoy.  My husband thinks that I should let the birds eat them.  By the time I pick them in the morning, some are already eaten by birds. I know a lot of people who like figs and I love to share them. One day, I was pulling some weeds and I got scared by a frog.  First, I thought it was a snake but this frog was cute and stayed there until I got a picture.  The ground is wet and it is so easy to pull the weeds and transfer the plants.

Sunflower that bloomed from last year's seed Some type of Hibiscus which is perennial  cosmos  Flowers from the garden Sunflower still looks pretty! Today, I picked some tomatoes, beans, figs and sorrel leaves. I added some more stakes and rope for the vines to grow.  I always find something to do in the garden. It's raining so much that the grass needs to be cut almost every week.  Rains here in Alabama are like thunderstorms so you don't know when they will come.  Sometimes it rains heavily but the ground does not get soft and it is still hard to dig. The Cosmos flowers are blooming and new plants are coming in the ground everywhere.  I love to share the extra plants.  Some plants are easy to grow and some like Sedum and purple heart plant needs only a branch to get rooted.