Sunday, March 10, 2002		Garden Life

Time to reap the fruit of your labour
Satish Narula

VISITING gardens in Chandigarh at any time of the year is a pleasure. The range of the flora is wide and there is no lean period of the year when one or the other plant species, be it a fruit, ornamental tree or shrub or flower is not in flowering or bearing fruit.

Fruit trees provide us not only with the delicious bounties of nature but some of them fit so well in the gardenscape that at the time of flowering and fruiting they become the focus of attention. Who can deny the beauty of the, plum peach and pear bloom? Even when in fruiting, the fruit- laden trees become assets for the garden . Some of the gardeners use profusely flowering twigs of such plants as are used in ikebana making. The shining foliage and almost perfect round crown of litchi makes it a front-runner for the front lawn. With the availability of dwarf papaya varieties that started bearing almost near the ground level, these are not only sources of immense nutrition but a thing of curiosity for many.

One fruit, however, that has caught the fancy of every gardeners is lemon. Having found many uses, this fruit has become a household name. It is preferred over kagzi lime, specially in the submountaneous belt where the latter is prone to canker and die-back diseases. The fruit is also liked due to the reason that it spreads naturally and starts bearing fruits in the second or the third year. Although there are two main fruit-bearing seasons of Baramasi Lemon, that is, spring and rainy season, yet it bears fruits throughout the year which are sufficient to meet the requirements of the kitchen . Some wise gardeners also preserve its juice to be used later in the lean period.

Another fruit that is very popular with the gardeners is guava. A rich source of vitamin C, it is liked by children the most who preferred to nibble on it.

Such fruits are free from maggots that are the bane of the summer crops. The insects are found after the fruit skin loosens and starts ripening. The winter crop, however, is free from insects and therefore should be encouraged. This can be done by removing the summer season crop when still young.

Fruits like kumquat, also called Chinese Orange, narangi etc are preferred for ornamental display in the garden. The sight of this not very tall tree laden with sparks of miniature oranges is unparalleled. There are guava and pomegranate too available in miniature. People are using such plants for bonsai raising too.