Something new grew in my garden trough. Sturdy stem and whirly, curly tendrils with prickly palmate leaves and big golden blooms soon grew luxuriantly. I asked my Filipino domestic helper what it was. 'Pumpkin , I threw some seeds there,' was her reply.
Because it just grew and grew, it reminded me of Jack's beans in the fairytale. Such a quick grower and a scrawling plant! Since it had taken root and was showing healthy signs of life, I didn't have the heart to cut short its life. Before long it was at the expense of my tomato and long bean plants sharing the same trough. Very soon the vigorous growth dwarfed them in the same space.
The vines just curled and twisted along the wire fencing. It grabbed anything in its path, entangling itself among the ixora bushes. Flowers appeared and they are extremely short -lived - just lasting for as short as a time as day. I learned to recognise the male and female blooms which grew on the same plant. But the baby pumpkins began aborting. Plop they fell to the ground before growing to a decent ping pong ball size. We hung on, me for the love of the green canpy of leaves and the showy yellow flowers.
In the meantime I heard groans of ' but we do not like to eat pumpkin!' When my sister in law heard about the promising start of a pumpkin harvest, she relished me with the different ways of cooking ala Indian style. Of late, I have a Sri Lankan domestic helper and she asked for pumpkin. By then, my pumpkin patch had long gone . Though hardy the plant succumbed to pests. Methinks it didn't have a fighting chance as there was not much love for it!! That was the end of the pumpkin growing experiment. So off I went to the local mini market. I bought the smallest ball of pumpkin. Voila! In her hands the pumpkin curry won accolades! Noses that snubbed pumpkins were surprised at the outcome. Everyone polished off the pumpkin curry and asked for more.
Because it just grew and grew, it reminded me of Jack's beans in the fairytale. Such a quick grower and a scrawling plant! Since it had taken root and was showing healthy signs of life, I didn't have the heart to cut short its life. Before long it was at the expense of my tomato and long bean plants sharing the same trough. Very soon the vigorous growth dwarfed them in the same space.
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| Greenscape in my garden trough |
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| Much green activity |
The vines just curled and twisted along the wire fencing. It grabbed anything in its path, entangling itself among the ixora bushes. Flowers appeared and they are extremely short -lived - just lasting for as short as a time as day. I learned to recognise the male and female blooms which grew on the same plant. But the baby pumpkins began aborting. Plop they fell to the ground before growing to a decent ping pong ball size. We hung on, me for the love of the green canpy of leaves and the showy yellow flowers.
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| Swing it out and hook! |
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| Feeling the prickly leaf |
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| Before it unfurls |
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| Love the bright cheerful colour |
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| Dying before the day is done |
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| Looks so well sculptured |
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| Hair so fine - so well coated |
In the meantime I heard groans of ' but we do not like to eat pumpkin!' When my sister in law heard about the promising start of a pumpkin harvest, she relished me with the different ways of cooking ala Indian style. Of late, I have a Sri Lankan domestic helper and she asked for pumpkin. By then, my pumpkin patch had long gone . Though hardy the plant succumbed to pests. Methinks it didn't have a fighting chance as there was not much love for it!! That was the end of the pumpkin growing experiment. So off I went to the local mini market. I bought the smallest ball of pumpkin. Voila! In her hands the pumpkin curry won accolades! Noses that snubbed pumpkins were surprised at the outcome. Everyone polished off the pumpkin curry and asked for more.
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| Promise of a pumpkin |
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