Glittering Dubai

It was a fun trip with us three classmates getting together in one of our homes in Dubai. I had never been to the Middle East and so it was an eagerly awaited trip. Starting off with a wonderful 3 hour comfortable flight to Dubai and being picked up by our friends, the city was a revelation to me. Skyscrapers almost touching the sky, magical lights glittering as we drove home, a maze of fly overs intersecting one another. What a wonderful and shining example of mans drive and ambition to achieve in just 50 years.

The malls were massive, but more suited to the western mind. I loved the souks which breathed the life of Dubai. The incense curling upwards, the brightly lit lamps in the shops, the multicoloured Turkish plates and the sacks of spices to entice and invite. That was the real Dubai I enjoyed the most. And ofcourse crossing the Dubai creek on one of those old fashioned motorised dhows.

Enjoy Dubai from its skyscrapers and snowski slopes in the mall, to the date palms and the rambling old souks. And dont miss going into a local restaurant to savour Arabian food. It's a holiday of a lifetime and one you should make to enjoy.

Enjoying Crotons in an apartment in Bangalore

Living in Bangalore with it's salubrious climes definitely has it's advantages. I love Crotons and today they have a hybrid which is in sale which is small and dwarf enough to grow on one's balcony. However one definitely needs the sun to enjoy the changing colours in the leaves. Have a look at the first picture and then see how the colours change with the sun playing artist with colours.

Crotons when we were kids were pretty large shrubs grown in the sprawling gardens of Bangalore. Now we can still enjoy their colourful foliage with this dwarf variety. I have a great collection as we give them out to our guest authors in my iBrowse book club and so I collect one every month! So here's to all my balconies being filled up with these really easy to grow yet colourful plants.

The golden beauty in Bangalore, India

Usually the Tabebia Argentia is all ablaze across Bangalore, India between January and February. Also known as the ‘Golden Trumpet Tree’ or ‘Yellow Trumpet Tree’, and this refers to the tree's magnificent blaze of golden flowers at this time of year. Silver Trumpet Tree is a small and very beautiful semi-deciduous tree from the tropical rainforests of South America. It grows around 3 to 6 metres tall, forming a nice and airy canopy. When the flowers bloom, they put on a brilliant display, being covered profusely in 8cm bright yellow, trumpet shaped flowers. The leaves often drop just before the flowers appear. Some trees drop 100% of their leaves, making the flowers even more prominent and spectacular. When many trees are planted in a group, the effect is stunning.Landscapers use them to great effect in public and institution gardens that they plan. The tree is a fast growing species. They are not good near pools or anywhere where you don’t want leaves and flowers to drop as they are pretty messy. But the most important point is that they don’t have invasive roots and best of all are pest resistant, so no maintenance.