It was an ecstatic feeling to see five flower buds ready to bloom any time soon after you have taken dedicated care and nurtured the plant for more than a year. I have heard that this plant blooms in the season between June-August. But it is one thing to believe and hope, and another to actually see it become a reality.
We had five flower buds that bloomed over three nights in the sequence of 1-2-2. One single fragile-looking leaf, which is usually pointing downward, bore two bulky flowers. As the days passed, we wondered how the leaf was going to bear the weight of the flowers. It was a fascinating site. We were in awe of nature yet again. It took the plant more than 20 days to become a flower from the bud, and all of it for just one night. It blossoms exquisitely, for one night. Imagine the preparation needed for that one night of stardom, and here we are looking for overnight success!
It was whiter than any white flower I have seen and gave off a very subtle scent of its own. But the wind lay hands on it and spread it into our home, which was indeed very pleasing.
Now some people call it Brahma Kamal. Recently, a reel on Instagram mentioned how wrong we are by calling it Brahma Kamal and how it is different from the original variety that is local and holds a mystical and spiritual significance in the unexpected areas of Himalayas. We usually like to know what we plant and make it a point to deeply understand the seed or sapling that we have procured to care better for it. About this one, there has been no decision made, and we are still researching.
I inherited the love for plants from my father. My childhood home, which luckily is close to me, had a terrace and a garden together consisting of over 200 plants, each loved and grown by both of my parents. The plants and trees have grown and continue to grow beautifully.
Me and my husband, still at a considerably basic stage of gardening, often sit in the balcony for tea in the evening or sometimes even for morning coffee, and not a day has gone by when we ask each other, how did we make this happen? We too now have over 40 plants inside and outside of the house, carefully chosen and planted one at a time over the past 7-8 years. Now they have become a regular for birds like sunbirds, scaly breasted munia & ashy prinia. We started with a very small balcony, catering to only a few low-maintenance plants like money plant, palm, and lemon grass, moving on to some flowering ones soon, and today we have plants that were shipped from over 500 km away. Brahma Kamal was one of the latest one planted, as of now.
It is indeed now one man’s job for either of us to support the plants, and we are lucky to have our gardener, Vikaas, who is visiting. We wait eagerly for that visit and have learned a lot from him over the years. But you must care for them, like how you care for the people you live with every day. There is no substitute to caring for plants by yourself.
There is a saying in Marathi that translates to, whatever you do, do it beautifully. It has been a therapeutic experience to be the guardian of so many lives and see our lives affected every day because of theirs. Who needs therapy when you have nature? And I have become such a strong believer of this that now, I have started propagating it.
Doing what you do consciously creates a different result altogether. The love and conviction with which you devote yourself to anything eventually builds your belief and leads you to a beautiful green patch.
As generations pass, the patience and perseverance needed for activities that take longer are losing their battle against time. Even the people who create reels for quick tips on balcony gardens have spent a considerable amount of time understanding and building the content they have created today. What we see is usually 10-20% of the tip of the mountain, and the effort behind that is often misconstrued.
Just so if you are planning to slow down a little bit, experience the days, and love your house a little more, maybe maintaining healthy plants might be a good way to start with.
An activity that is not yet done On Click!
Dipika Pathak 