Growing up in my grandparents' garden

The harsh Saudi Arabian summer (Wait! What am I talking about? It is always summer here. Anyways..) reminds me of my favorite kind of weather that I just left behind in the US. Spring is not only my favorite time of the year because it is a much-needed relief from winter, but spring symbolizes life and rebirth. You’ve been used to seeing the bland landscape and lifeless plants and trees around you, the whole of winter. And then, spring comes along, brings not only warmth and rain, but also life. The landscape slowly turns green; flowers start to bloom, gradually bringing color to the lifeless – looking plants and trees. For me, spring means throwing away my winter jacket, going for evening walks and getting rid of the depression that winter brings.

Earlier this spring, when my aunt and I finally brought our plotted plants outdoors after the whole fall – winter phase, seeing the plants sway with the wind, gave me unexplainable happiness. A sudden thought occurred to me and I told my aunt, “Doesn’t it look like the plants are doing some sort of happy dance? They must be so excited to finally have sun rays fall upon them.” Plants always give me that kind of happiness. The reason behind it is that I've been spending a lot of time with plants, since as long as I can remember.

Growing up in my grandparents’ house in India, their garden has always been my wonderland. Everyone in my family loves plants, so much so that when you tell them you are bored, they say “How can you be bored when you have all these plants to water and take care of?” My grandfather is an avid gardener. He had all sorts of plants in his garden. Given the part of the country we lived in, coconut palms were a must. Apart from those, we also had neem, pineapple, bananas, guavas, pepper, jackfruit, sandalwood, hibiscus, roses and a number of other plants and trees in the garden. At one point of time, we also had grape vines. The garden was and is an integral part of our lives, as dear to us as the house itself. As a kid, when I'd play pretend - kitchen with my friends, pretend - food would always come from the garden. I loved chopping up hibiscus buds! :D Growing up there, plants have been very, very dear to me. Even today when we see a bud in one of our rose bushes or pick a mango from the mango tree in our garden, the whole family rejoices!

Today, as I complain about the Saudi summer and miss my favorite season, I couldn’t help thinking about the life spring brings with it. I couldn’t help thinking about plants and the happiness they give me. I couldn’t help thinking about my grandparents’ garden.

P.S - These are pictures of flowers from our garden :)