Riding for Rajasthan Health!

Charlotte aka The Galloping Gardener on the road in Rajasthan

A quick entry today and a promise to feature all the wonderful gardens we've visited here in India in the next few weeks. My fellow English travellers have returned to the UK and I'm en route to Delhi to catch my flight home. We're launching a campaign called Riding for Rajasthan Health - full details to follow - and this shot (taken by travelling companions, Paul and Pauline McBride of Sussex Prairies) is just a taster of what's to come!

Jodhpur's famous fort garden under restoration

Jodhpur - majestic city of kings - in western Rajasthan, is also home to some of the finest Indian gardens I've seen on this trip, including Chokelao Bagh at Mehrangarh Fort (above) which has been restored over the last ten years and is now worth visiting if you're in the area. The original garden was laid out in 1739 by Maharaja Abhai Singh, when it was planned as a terraced chahar bagh.  

Water is in short supply in Rajasthan, which relies on a good monsoon to fill both lakes and water tanks in the long, dry season between February and July, so Chokhelao is not designed to the conventional chahah bagh plan described in the link above - although it does have a well in the middle of the garden. The plan today has made best use of plants that can survive the long, hot months without constant watering.

Chokhelao is divided into three terraced areas - the top terrace (above) is the flower garden, to be enjoyed during the day, and has been designed for both colour and texture. But it comes as a welcome oasis from the searing heat of the midday sun in Jodhpur and I spent several hours sitting there while my fellow travellers toured the Fort.

The lower terraces are filled with fruit trees including banana palms, with their huge succulent leaves (above), which also provide shade for the garden visitor. And of course, their fruits would have been used to supply the palace in days gone by.

The moonlight garden (above) or mehtab bagh, was originally designed for night-time enjoyment and is planted with fragrant species, selected to provide seasonal interest and tactile textures. Part of the joy of this garden is the views of the famous city (below), which is known for its blue houses. In my next post, I'll be visiting the wonderful gardens at Bal Samand Palace and looking at some of the modern gardens in Jodhpur.

Wordless Wednesday - Sunrise in Rajasthan

Sunrise in Rajasthan .... some of the places I've seen in the last two weeks. To catch up on a secret garden click the link and more to follow! Working at Disha today, so back later.

Stunning secret castle garden in Rajasthan

There can be few things more surprising than finding a secret flower garden in the middle of Rajasthan, India, but I'm staying there right now - at Castle Bijaipur, near Chittaurgarh - with my intrepid travelling friends from Jardins sans Frontiers. No chance to post recently because we've been way off the beaten track, but I have a brief internet connection and wanted to share this beautiful place with you.

The ruling family still resides in part of the castle, but has opened much of the property to guests. Life doesn't get much better than this - in a charmingly restored property overlooking verdant countryside at this time of year. But the most exciting part is the garden surrounding the castle - complete with lawns and glorious borders - that remind me of home.

Many of the plants here are reminiscent of English flower borders and all the family take pride in their unusual plot within the castle walls. There are flowers in all the garden areas within the garden walls, as well as many fine trees. Outside the castle walls there is little to see except verdant countryside.

Tonight we go to the tented camp run by the castle management and then back to Udaipur, where we'll have a permanent internet connection and be able to tell you all about our travels to date. Namaste!

Spectacular display in Rajasthan desert!

First demoiselle cranes flying in at sunrise

It's strange weather in Rajasthan! We've had monsoon rain in February; roads were flooded and skies dark yesterday and today as I made my way to Jaisalmer in the far Northwest corner of the state to witness a crane feeding ceremony unlike any other I've seen before.

Shortly after sunrise, thousands of demoiselle cranes appear over the horizon

If you travel north of Jodhpur, you'll come to a remote village near the Indian border, where thousands of demoiselle cranes descend every morning at this time of year to be fed by the villagers. It's a spectacular sight, even in the current cold, damp weather, and has been going on for many, many decades.

It's impossible to work out how many pairs of demoiselles there are - cranes are birds that partner for life - but they start descending on the village shortly after sunrise during the winter months (October- March) and have been returning to the same spot for nearly 100 years. They fly in strict formation.

As more and more birds arrive, the noise is deafening! You can hear them coming from a considerable distance because of their distinctive chattering, and once they descend onto the sand adjacent to the village, they start to walk down the dunes to the patch where the villagers spread grain every morning.

They feed in rotation, with one flock coming into land and eat the grain on the ground, while others return to the desert to wait for their turn again - hence the difficulty in ascertaining numbers - although I suspect there must have been in the region of 8,000 birds this morning. 

Now in Jaisalmer for the Desert Festival, so more tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day and Namaste! My garden visits begin in earnest later this week!

Arrived in Udaipur ....

Returned from Ahmedabad ... no traffic problems on the return journey. Visited Disha with fellow travellers ... first sunset over Lake Fateh Sagar ... more later.

Best laid plans of mice and men in India!

It's wonderful weather here in Rajasthan and we set off today to meet the rest of our party - who are flying out from the UK to work on the garden at Disha Hospital - in Ahmedabad, which is some 250 kilometres from Udaipur.  All went well until we encountered the MOST massive traffic jam on the highway....

The left-hand carriageway was closed and the right-hand carriageway was taking all traffic ... up and down and the actual jam was about 15 miles long! So we ended up sitting for nearly three hours, and in true Indian style, nobody moved. When we reached the stage where the road was blocked, the only problem was that a single truck was blocking the road, but neither lane would give way to the other, so there was total gridlock, roadrage, etc.

The result .... that the truck drivers decided to leave the highway and drive on the dirt track at the side of the road, which caused a dust storm and then nobody could even see where they were going!

Resulting dust storm carried on for at least a mile! Journey that should have taken five hours took eight, but we are now safely in Ahmedabad and will be at the airport in a couple of hours to meet our English party, so more of our adventures tomorrow on Jardins sans Frontiers.

And finally we got to see the sunset! But hearty thanks must go to my trusted driver - Prakash - who steered us calmly through this road block and remained smiling all the way.

Don't miss the snowdrops at Chelsea Physic Garden!

Just a hurried post between intercontinental flights for me today, but if you get the chance .... do go and see the snowdrops at Chelsea Physic Garden! I'd hoped to fit in many snowdrop displays on my brief visit to England, but the weather was grey, time ran out and I'm now en route to Rajasthan.

This is London's oldest Botanic Garden and it's open next weekend (12th and 13th February) for snowdrop viewings. There's quite a bit in bloom here, considering it's only early February - hellebores, iris, cyclamen and crocuses are all beginning to flower.

More from India when I get there!

Wordless Wednesday - Goodbye Florida

Gone to India! But you can follow my travels on:

Jardins sans Frontiers

February - three continents in a week and garden blogs to bookmark!

Water lily about to bloom at The Kampong, Florida last February

I don't know where time goes! It's already 1st February and there are tiny signs of spring in sight! I've seen my first snowdrops of the year (and am hoping to see more later this week); I failed spectacularly in visiting gardens in Florida during the couple of weeks I was there, but am now bound for the UK and India, so must do better! It's that time of year for me again, when I see three continents in a week - US, Europe and Asia - get very little sleep and worst of all, find that my time clock goes out the window. But, weather permitting I hope to have some real treats in store for you this month, including the snowdrops at Colesbourne, a visit to the Rock Garden in India and lots of news from our own garden at Disha, where work begins in earnest next week.

One of many gilded mirrors in the City Palace, Udaipur, India

But before embarking on any of this, I wanted to flag up some of the wonderful new garden blogs that have appeared recently, so fellow bloggers who've been on the block for a while (like me!) can see what's on offer in 2011. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I've chosen several entirely for their photographic merit, but I hope you'll enjoy them, support them and encourage them.

Two new blogs that celebrate plants at their finest are On Botanical Photography, where every posting features a photograph with details of the featured plant, and A Digital Botanic Garden, run by Phil Gates at Durham University. Both are featured in my side bar because I like to check them out daily - just for the eye candy - and you can also follow them on Blotanical.

Other notable new blogs on the block from the UK include Aberdeen Gardening - a chronicle of a gardener's life in "Bonnie Scotland"; Janet Bruton's Plantaliscious - another feast for the eyes; and Jamie Spooner's overseas adventures in Tumbleweed Traveller.

Demoiselle cranes in flight over northern Rajasthan

As for myself, I won't be posting too much here next month, because I shall be busy in the garden at my hospital in India, but if you want to follow our adventures abroad (and I say our, because I'm not travelling alone this time) you can check out our progress on Jardins sans Frontiers. Highlights of our  journey in India will include the desert fair in Jaisalmer, the incredible demoiselle crane ceremony in northern Rajasthan and hopefully, the long-awaited visit to Nek Chand's Rock Garden in Chandigarh (THE garden that I've been trying to see for the last three years!!). Well, that's the plan, but the best-laid plans often change in India, so we may well end up in all sorts of unexpected places!