Garden in Boston: The Beginning
Moving from sun-drenched streets of Madurai to the historic bustle of Massachusetts, cultivating my garden in boston was more than just a change of scenery, it was like being replanted in entirely different soil. I started my garden but it was a slow but a learning experience. Back home my parents always grew plants even when we lived in an apartment. We had plants like – Hibiscus, crotons and colorful Roses to name a few. In Boston I discovered that every plant has its own character, almost like a personality. For instance, hibiscus is a perennial back home, here it must be grown indoors or plant it outdoors as an annual. My first plant I grew indoor was Curry leaves (Murraya Koenigii) in a pot. YES! In a pot in my kitchen window from 2012 to 2021. Though I lost my plant, in 2021 I got my own Compost bin and raised bed garden in my backyard which was built by my husband.
Roses Challenge: My mother always had roses in our yard or porch though we moved 4 different towns. I still remember, my cousin and I had to take turns to get a rose each week (My sister was a baby then to be a part of the barter LOL!). Now my sister is the reason the Coriander Chef blog exists. We are here to share simple, practical tips that make growing plants and cooking effortless!
My mother grew roses with such effortless grace that I was thrilled to plant my own in the yard. Oh boy! I found myself battling caterpillars, outsmarting chipmunks. I realized instead of fighting with nature, I decided to grow plants native to Boston zone 4 and not eaten by chipmunks – Tulip, Peony, Iris and Hydrangea.
The picture below is my front yard where I grew Tulip, Iris and Peony. There is no Tulip left by end of May. Tulip sprouts in March, blooms in April and dies in May. This year I had only one red tulip flower as the rabbit decided to eat the rest of the plants and left me 1 flower to enjoy
Iris blooms in May and is done with the bloom in late May. Peony starts to produce buds and is in full bloom by end of Summer.
Rabbit let me keep one Tulip:
My take away after a decade of gardening is chipmunks love roses and rabbits loves to eat tulip plant….
How my garden started: 2020 and 2021 was a creative year for everyone. I wanted to have a vegetable garden, I was done with just growing pretty flowers…. My husband built a raised bed garden and we planted some plants from garden center. We started with some herbs and vegetables that are native to Boston and to Tamil Nadu, India. Click here to see the photos of some of the plants grown in my raised garden bed. Here in Boston , my vegetable plants are done growing in the Fall/Autumn season. By October all the herbs are ready to go dormant.
Beautiful Spring: After five months of cold weather, in March we are ready for the spring and so are the plants.
It is an adventure to start the gardening for the next 7 months starting with
- Prepping the Garden for Spring with spring cleaning the raised bed garden
- And some Spring to dos
- Indoor seed starting
- Composting with Kitchen scraps
- Regular harvesting and nourishing the plant
- Fall season
By May all these plants are fully grown and ready to harvest.
Indoor seed starting with a lamp in March
