My latest achievement in the garden has been the successful growth of a lotus plant.

I had always been fascinated by lotus flowers growing in the fields. In the ponds around my villages you will notice many varieties in different colours. But best ones being the magenta pink coloured.

I tried growing the lotus plant with seeds bought online. A couple of seeds showed an initial growth, but unfortunately non of them survived. But nevertheless my craze for this plant compelled me to mention this plant to a couple of my friends. And one friend took the trouble of getting me a 2 lotus pods from a nearby field in her village.

I placed the 2 plants in a pot filled with water. They initially began rotting and I almost gave up hope , until one fine day I noticed a small new leaf emerging. I tried out a creative stunt later. I placed the 2 pods in a glass fish bowl with a little cowdung and mud placed at the bottom. Then to make it more lively I added some guppy fishes. The entire fish bowl looked like a small ecosystem. And surprisingly enough the lotus plant began growing very rapidly. So much so that within 3 weeks its leaves began cramming inside.

I had to provide it with a bigger space. So I used a bigger plastic tub , filled it with mud and cowdung at the bottom, placed the lotus pod and then finally the fish. I realised that one of the pod had died.

The lotus pod kept growing in its new home. And in a couple of days it had its first flower. A small little white one. The flower blooms when the sun is out in the morning and fades away by noon. Each flowers survives for almost 3 days and then it takes a plunge into the water and stays there. In the meantime another flower replaces its place.

It’s a wonderful feeling just sitting by my small pond just watching the fish swim by the leaves of my lotus plant.

But good things seldom come without any problem. As the lotus plant began growing, along with it began the growth of a form of algae. The algae spread pretty fast and ended up giving the water a green look. Exposure to full sunlight helps the growth of the algae. So once a week I have a task of clearing up the entire water. Although lazy I still do it so that the fish still remain alive.

Now my next plan is to have a still bigger pond ….with a small rock garden and a pink lotus in it.

A friend of mine showed me a pic of a garden pond at some place she had visited.

The colour of the lotus and the other aquatic plant have got me mesmerized. Now my mind is set on getting something like them at home.

Good luck to me and my garden endeavors. 😁