The Kitchen Garden

Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)

The nature of our visit to India did not give us the opportunity to spend time in Kerala. But when my Dad told me that my grandmother was not doing well, we took time off and made a 24-hr Kerala visit to see her. We flew in mid-afternoon from Bombay and left the next day around the same time. So we pretty spent time at my parents house – watched TV, I cooked some beef curry (My wife had expressed interest in having water buffalo meat, which is what normally qualifies as beef in Kerala), and also photographed the plants around the house.

My parents own two plots of land, and they have an eclectic mix of vegetables, spices and trees. The star is of course the nutmeg tree. My engineer-turned-farmer father is on an organic farming warpath to diversify his portfolio of tree acquisitions. It started with nutmeg, then the rambutan, and the latest addition – avacado. Then there is my mom’s “banana tree collection” (click on the link above to see the different kind of banana trees).

Here are some of the plants and trees at our “kitchen garden” –