Farhat.usa personal blog

What a joyous surprise plants give, when you  go out and suddenly see the plant which grow from bulb or seed is blooming!  Isn’t that so that you feel your heart has  bloomed.  Only a gardener can feel that  joy.

The same happy moment I felt when I saw gladiolus blooming in my garden. I planted these tiny bulbs in fall and in June they are on bloom.

The gladiolus “bulb” is  a food-storage structure known as a Corm .   The function of the corm is to maintain the plant while dormant until growth resumes in spring.

The corm is actually a swollen underground stem. Each year a new corm is formed over the old one.  On the upper surface of the new corm, buds develop from which the new plant grows the following year.

While the new corm is forming over the old one, small new corms called cormels or cormlets are produced from the base. Cormels are a chief means of propagating  gladiolus.

Gladiolus are very easy to grow.  Just plant them ,  keep them watered and watch them bloom.

Another thing  I love about gladiolus is that they don’t need much space to grow. Just grow bulbs among other permanent plants and in few weeks, they will pop out  as stunning beauties.

Beautiful pink hybrid gladiolus

A beautiful fabulous scene of blooming gladioli,  isn’t that single reason  enough to be glad.

Peace be upon us.

Many of us know camouflage  is the adaptation of many animals used to protect themselves from enemies.  They hide  by matching themselves to their background . Thus by deceiving their predator , they increase their chances of survival.  Amazing.

Even more interesting , camouflage in plants. A thing may be new to many of us, but as a gardener, it is in my daily observation.   How weeds increase their chances  of survival by growing among those plants that look like them. The  proof ,  I will share with you in some other post.

Right now I am surprised  how a zucchini plant is dodging me to protect its fruit from picking. I used word” fruit”  because, botanically speaking , fruit is the ripened ovary ( female par)t of a flower.   Zucchini squash Plants, spread like crazy. I pick  them when they are tender. But some of these guys  disguise  and blend so well to their surrounding that I can barely  see them and they are saved.  Well, there is some frustation , but still contended, after all I need seeds to produce these tasteful , tender,  homegrown vegetables next season.

So next time your squash is saved from picking at right tender stage,  Don’t say I forgot,  just blame on Camouflage.

Peace be upon us.

Today is memorial day. Let’s extend this day to honor all those who gave their precious lives to serve humanity all over the world.In the morning when I got up late, there was silence in the house. An unusual thing, when kids are at home. So I looked for them. They were in backyard,standing around blackberry bush, with basket to collect ripe berries.  Our blackberry bush is spreading all over the fence and loaded with berries in various stage of ripening , from white flowers to green to pink to red and last black  and juicy.

Blackberries contain antioxidants and ellagic acid which may help to prevent cancer.

The high tannin content, and the antiseptic properties, of blackberries makes them good for treating minor bleeding.

Blackberries are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol),Magnesium, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese.

With all these nutritional  facts, I am really blessed to have these black beauties in my yard.  My daughter collected about  forty berries and wanted to make black berry pancakes.  I decided to make syrup from blackberries.  It  was easy and came out delicious.

Regular consumption of blackberries is said to slow down aging process. With all these benefits , who cares for blackberry storm when mouth is full of  these tasty treats.

I am thinking about getting more  ripe berries and honoring those which already fallen  to serve  us such a hearty breakfast.

Here is  the recipe for blackberry syrup

1 cup Blackberries,

Half cup sugar,

3/4 cup water.

Bring berries and water to boil until berries are tender.  Add sugar . simmer till you get the required consistency of syrup.

I liked it with crunchy seeds  and berries.  But if you like you can put berries and water in blender and after blending pass this through sieve and then cook this by adding sugar.

Peace be upon us.