Spring on three continents!

Spring flowers at Filoli, CA in February

As we head towards the end of April, I realise that I've been lucky enough to see spring on three continents - first in the US, then in in the UK and finally in India. So for once, I've chosen to write a personal post explaining why I travel so much! I suspect that most of my readers envy my lifestyle and wonder how I can move around the globe constantly; one or two of you have met me; and others have had long email correspondences with me; but few, if any of you, really know me.

Spring at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, NC

This "exotic" lifestyle of mine must seem very strange to you all, but the reality is very different. I am married to a wonderful man who has not been well recently and one of the reasons we travel so much is that the English winters are impossible for him - the long, cold months of December and January make him a prisoner in our English home and since we are lucky enough to have a home in Florida too, we use that in the winter months. It is only now that the weather is warming up that we return home to Europe.

Spring in the UK - bluebells in bloom

My decision to launch a charitable foundation in India is also linked to my husband's illness. We travelled together to Rajasthan some 18 months ago and my husband fell ill there - without the skill of my Indian medical partner, the ending to that story would have been very different, but as it happened, my husband was cured and we were able to return home. It was just three months after when I returned to India to set up The Raven Foundation.

Spring in Udaipur, India - the Nehru Garden

My true passion for gardens came from the many months that I spent looking after my father last year at the end of his life. Sometimes when the weather was sunny, I was able to take him from the hospice in a wheelchair and show him the spring flowers in bloom and they brought a smile to his face.

But what I've learned in all of this is that flowers and gardens are a wonderful tonic - it doesn't matter how bad you are feeling .... seeing flowers in bloom and looking at garden vistas is a wonderful uplifting experience, whatever the true circumstances in your life. And that is why I love to share everything I see with all of you who read my blog!

Glendurgan, Cornwall - my father's favourite garden

We are just a year down the road and my husband is as passionate about gardens as I am; my Indian foundation is a reality and tomorrow is another day. So now it's time for me to thank all my readers for supporting me in all my travels, and indeed in the work I am doing for my foundation. My father is no longer here to enjoy the gardens with me, but I am sure that wherever he is now, he is surrounded by spring blooms too.

So if you are feeling down, just go and look at your garden, or visit a public space with flowers - it will change your day!! (And if you'd like to read the related blog entries, just click on the caption below the pictures).

Author, with extended "family" in Rajasthan

Tiptoe through the tulips

I've seen so many wonderful pictures of tulips on Blotanical recently, and have to confess that while I was melting in Udaipur, I felt a tiny bit jealous! So when I woke yesterday to another perfect (and cool) day here in England, I just had to go to the Tulip Festival at Pashley Manor Gardens ... wild horses wouldn't have kept me away!!

The Festival runs until Monday 3rd May and there are some 90 varieties of tulip on display and 20,000 blooms - in every conceivable colour and shape - so these are just a few of the more unusual ones that I saw on my brief visit yesterday. I certainly had no idea that tulips came in such an amazing variety of colours.

Add this extraordinary array of flowers to the backdrop of the manor house (top), with its beautifully manicured gardens, and sculptures dotted around, and you won't be disappointed. Admission is £8.50 (no concessions) and there is ample free parking.

A word of warning though - do get there early if you want to get ahead of the crowds - this has become such a popular event that the garden is swarming with visitors - it makes Sissinghurst look like a breeze! But there's something for everyone as you will see from the shot below and the ducks are so used to visitors that they wander in and out of the crowds, without a care in the world!

A spring in my step in Sussex!

I arrived from India yesterday and am so happy to see the English greenery and gardens in full spring bloom! I love Rajasthan, but the temperatures there have been quite a strain in the last two weeks and we were only able to work early in the morning or late in the afternoon, because it was like stepping into an oven! That said, the hospital is on track; the project is nearing completion, and we will soon be opening our doors to the rural villagers in Rajasthan.

So now back to England, and all her glory, with the gardens in bloom and I cannot believe the lush greenery here .... no cows or camels on the roads; clean streets; beautiful gardens and a life style so different to India. I nearly missed my flight from Bombay because my flight from Udaipur was late, and had to embark on a hair-raising taxi ride between the domestic and international terminals, to make sure I caught my London flight. But my driver was good and we made a mad dash through one of the great slums of Bombay to make sure that I was there on time (the airport buses weren't running, so I had no choice!).

So now to two of my favourite spring gardens here in Sussex - glorious Borde Hill (above), with its beautiful house and amazing collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias - quite magnificent at this time of year, with everything in bloom. Add to that some 200 acres of parkland and you begin to realise why we Brits are so devoted to visiting gardens!! The azalea circle will soon be in bloom, and I shall go back and visit in the next couple of weeks to take pictures. This garden is just perfect in spring time - get there if you can because the bluebells will soon be out!

Combine this with High Beeches, just a few miles away and you will have a perfect day out. This is a perfect woodland and water garden, with rolling hillsides covered in flowers; stunning magnolia, azalea and rhododendron collections; home to the National Collection of stewartias and one of the best wildflower meadows in the country. The bluebells here are also astounding - this is a garden to savour and enjoy, stroll gently through and see English countryside at its best!

Both properties are members of the Historic Houses Association (HHA) - see sidebar on right for further details, and English readers might want to consider joining, because an annual membership will get you into all their properties nationwide - both houses and gardens! HHA has some of the finest gardens in Britain and I shall be galloping round quite a few in the next few weeks to soak up spring here.

Escaping the heat on Lake Fateh Sagar

Udaipur is filled with bougainvillea, even if the temperatures remain in the mid 40's (C)! And one of my favourite gardens here is Nehru Park on Fateh Sagar Lake. Admittedly, it's not quite the same now as it is after the monsoon, when it's surrounded by water and you can only reach it by boat, but it still makes a wonderful early morning walk.

At this time of year, when the water level in all Udaipur lakes is low, you can walk there (and do some bird watching on the way - see 22nd April post).

Named after India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the park was inaugurated in November 1967, and is a popular picnic spot for local people. But it's still a lovely green spot to enjoy in this incredible heat ... providing you get there early in the morning.

Built on an island, you will find spectacular palm trees here; and wonderful views over the Araveli Hills - a great place to relax before and after the great heat of the day! And certainly less crowded than the other great Udaipur garden - Saheliyon ki Bari.

Thursday Thoughts 2 - Udaipur

My first Thursday Thoughts came from the USA, but I've travelled a long way since then; just managed to avoid the volcanic ash problems; and have now been in Udaipur for nearly a week. It's incredibly beautiful here, but the searing temperatures (anything up to 110F during the day) are making work quite difficult. But early in the morning this city is wonderful - it's cool and peaceful, so I'm sharing just some of the sights I saw at 7.00 a.m. today.

Right in the middle of the fast-receding lake here, is the Neeru Garden, which I'll review tomorrow, and the trees there are quite spectacular, like the one above, which is some form of mimosa - the whole city is filled with trees like it, all in full flower at the moment.

But it's the birds that make this place really special for me in the early morning, and walking across the empty lake brings you to water pools filled with large gatherings, as above - mainly storks - but I've never seen so many in one place before and if any reader knows the collective name for storks, I'd love to hear it!

By 8.00 a.m. it is beginning to get hot, and the birds depart - another wonderful site to see - this is an open-billed stork in flight, and you will see how many of them are together in the water pool in the photo above, along with common storks (black head and neck) and other water birds, including egrets and herons.

Blue skies in Udaipur ...

Still here in Udaipur, with blue skies and slightly kinder temperatures. This is a real wedding cake city with it's wonderful white palaces and buildings, overlooking Lake Pichola (below). And although it is a relatively young city byIndian standards since it was only founded in the mid-16th century by Udai Singh II, it more than makes up for its relative youth with its stunning views and fine architecture. I still haven't got to the gardens here as I've been so busy with the Deesha Hospital that we are building here, but I wanted to share some of the sights with you from my morning walk today.

The most famous view here must surely be the one above - the Lake City Palace in the middle of Lake Pichola - now owned and operated as a luxury hotel and also well known as the infamous back drop in James Bond's "Octopussy". But the Monsoon Palace (top) is no less impressive sitting high in the hills overlooking the city - this is where the ruling family retired to during the monsoon rains in Udaipur.

Elsewhere in Udaipur, the architecture follows a similar pattern with temples and landmarks scattered throughout the city - mostly in white! Every corner I turn, I find something new ... now I have to find the flowers!

Just ahead of that volcanic ash!

I've got a lot to be thankful for today, as I just got out of Heathrow before the cloud of volcanic ash closed airports all over Europe on Thursday! And I had no idea what was going on until I arrived in Mumbai and saw it on the news while waiting for my connecting flight to Udaipur. So I am very, very lucky and happy to be here, even though the temperature is around 40C!

No garden pictures yet as I arrived at sunset, so just a few pictures of the lake last night on the way from the airport, with fisherman (top) and the sun going down over Udaipur (above). It's now six in the morning for me (we're 10.5 hours ahead of US East Coast and 4.5 ahead of London), so I will leave you with these images, as I am on my way to the hospital to see how work is progressing and to look at the garden there and what needs to be done.

I have also changed my header picture (above) as this is another view over one of the smaller lakes here in Udaipur. More later .... and if you want to become a fan of The Raven Foundation and are a Facebook member, please join us!

Brighton's blooming!

Up at the crack of dawn today, as it's my only full day here in the UK and the sun is shining .... again. So off to look at what's blooming in Brighton before getting down to work. The Royal Pavilion Garden is beginning to fill with flowers, and is quite a sight to behold first thing in the morning - lots of tulips coming into bloom and with the wonderful backdrop of the Pavilion.

Bitterly cold out there after Florida (as I soon realised how scantily clad I was in the east wind!), but never mind, because it all looks so glorious! The Pavilion Gardens are just one of many free parks and gardens in the city.

Then on to one of my all time favourites here in Brighton - the Rock Garden in Preston Park, where there's always something in bloom. But spring is a particularly good time to visit because of all the tulips.

Another quick post because I've got so much to do, but just wanted to share all the wonderful spring blooms with you! More later, I promise as I'm going to visit some other gardens later and hope to have even better blooms to share!

Spring is sprung and it's a beautiful day!

Landed in the UK at 8.00 this morning and headed straight for home and I'm just so elated because it's the most beautiful day and my garden is in full bloom! So, these are just a couple of shots I wanted to post before I go out of the door to get everything I need for India. My clematis (above) is looking stunning and all the daffodils are out - it's just SO exciting!

My hellebores are still in full bloom (above) and the whole garden is filled with wonderful colours, so more later, I promise. Thanks for all your wonderful messages in the last few days, and I'll post some more pictures this evening.

Thursday Thoughts 1 - USA

When I got up this morning and looked at my travelling schedule for the next three weeks, my head began to spin - here in Florida until the weekend, back to the UK early next week and then on to India, to glorious Rajasthan, where work is nearly finished on our hospital. So many of my kind readers leave comments on the blog about my travels, and as I was walking earlier on, I thought I'd share my weekly walks with you over the next month, because there's not a single Thursday when I'm not somewhere wonderful!

What really struck me this morning was the great sense of spring in the air here in Florida - the birds are singing and the flowers are beginning to bloom - everywhere you look there's another flower bursting out; many of the birds are sporting their mating plumage; and plants are beginning to recover from the unusually cold winter we've had here. Yes, I know, it's been nothing like the winters you've had further north in the US, or indeed in the UK, where snow was the first major problem, and now flooding.

Even the big birds are back at last. There were several weeks here when it was hard to find them, and I assume that they went further south during the cold snap, but now they've returned and this is just one of many pelicans I saw eating breakfast ... shaken, not stirred!

But it's not just the birds that make good pictures, it's also all the smaller animals like the gecko on the left, who didn't like me getting too close! There's so much to see here when you open your eyes and I just love being up early, because there are so few people around.

I'm getting reports from back home that spring has arrived there too, so I shall be out walking to catch the signs of spring. And as for India, it's already well over 100F, so I have to walk early if I'm going to survive.

If my posts are erratic over the next few weeks, please forgive me ... what with time zones and travelling ... it's sometimes hard to find time - or in India - the luxury of an internet connection.

We will be starting to plant the garden at the hospital next week, so if any of you have suggestions for plants and trees, do let me know.

A little Florida surprise!

On my way to the airport last week, I found a little surprise here - the Florida Botanical Gardens at Largo, near Clearwater. To be honest, I had to take a small diversion to get there, but it was well worth it when I found this little backwater and spent a peaceful hour strolling round the gardens before re-engaging with the hustle and bustle of life!

Yet these gardens aren't mentioned anywhere ... not in the guidebooks, or the garden guides that I have been so busy searching during my stay here in the Sunshine State! They are a lovely leafy interlude at the heart of one of the busiest beach areas in Florida, yet there is not even a single sign pointing them out - and if I hadn't had a GPS system, I'd never have found them.

I wrote earlier this year about climate change and the effect that prolonged spells of cold weather this winter have had on plants and trees throughout the state, but here at Largo there are signs everywhere like the one above; there were gardeners at work wherever I looked and sure signs of recovery throughout the 30-acre cultivated gardens. The wetland areas remain in tact, and it is here that you will see birds and alligators in a natural habitat.

Extending to nearly 90 acres in total with the wetland areas (which are a bird and wildlife haven), you are as likely to see alligators here as humans! There are demonstration gardens here which include herbs, tropical fruit, native plants, succulents, butterflies, bromeliads and palms. So do take the time to step off the Gulf Beaches and stop here - it's a charming garden with huge potential, and amazingly ... it's FREE! You could easily combine this with a visit to the Sunken Gardens in St Petersburg if you wanted to make a day out.

What's "blue" - ming today?

No, I'm not the first to come up with the blue theme today - there's Jodi's wonderful post and Ami's to name just two - and I'm going to add my own array of "bluems" here for the Easter weekend, following on from my other colour posts last month.

But I'm hoping you'll also have a little time to spare over the holiday and would like to bring you up to date on some other new blogs that have bloomed at Blotanical recently. These are just some recent newcomers to the fast growing world of garden blogging, and in no way represent the full range of new members, but I've enjoyed them and think that you may too!

Children of the Corm charts the progress of Jess' plot in Charleston, NC, as she gets to work on her new garden, while Heather's blog - Dusty Bay - has wonderful photographs of the plants in her West Coast Canadian garden.

Ink and Penstemon, follows Susan in the Pink Hat's highs and lows in her garden, complete with successes and failures, while Tidewater Garden Goddess says she "is chronicaling the lunacy of taming three acres ... one square foot at a time"!

Garden Club of Virginia chronicles the thoughts and pictures of its members, so the content is extremely varied, with some really excellent photographs, while Vialii Garden Services from the UK has a lot of helpful gardening hints that you might want to check out.

Happy Easter and Happy reading!