In a recent post I admitted I wasn’t partial to a certain shade of green (what Pantone describes as UP Forest Green, in fact), but that perhaps my favourite colour is the green of new paddy – not because I like to wear it, or paint my walls with it, but because it seems to embody abundance and fecundity.
Today the WP Photo Challenge calls for a Green Gallery. Now this is serendipitous, because all that soul-searching to discover my favourite colour has led me to understand it’s the green of my island paradise which is at the core of my attachment to it. When I visualise Sri Lanka, it is green – just as, on the other hand, when I visualise my own land, it is a wide and ‘sunburnt country’, ochre tinged and deeply dramatic.
I thought I might show you some of the greens of Sri Lanka, but there was such a plethora of shades I’ve had to revise my thesis somewhat. The faint at heart among you might still need to view this in a double dose, or opt out completely, because I couldn’t cull the greens in my life to fewer than twenty-four.
Geoffrey Bawa, in designing his own home environment, proposed that nature needed very little embellishment to create the most harmonious of gardens. This is where we’ll begin our exploration of green – on the terrace at “Lunu Ganga”, overlooking what is, to me the most delightful farm-park-garden – akin to the Mughal’s vision of Paradise. Come, lets look at cultivated greens …
Bawa’s ‘manicured nature’ thesis on display in his front garden. The paddy field, and rattan patch are farmed – a constantly changing vista from his front porch at Lunu Ganga.
Maturing paddy
Rockpool meadow, Thalpe. Sometimes, it seems, nature likes to mix it up.
Sometimes the exotics are so integrated into nature it seems as though they belong. St. Clair Falls after rain.
Beautiful but alien – non-indigenous re-growth, Knuckles Ranges
Once-forested hillsides are now carpeted with tea and, to give shade, other introduced species like the Australian Grevillea robusta, the African Tulip Tree, fast-growing Griselinia. Tea Gardens Hatton-Nuwara Eliya Road.
Mother nature’s own garden – Ferns take root in the porous bark of a tree, Hakgala Gardens, Nuwara Eliya
Mother nature fighs back – strangler fig roots provide habitat for spores and seeds
Brief, a garden of pure artifice – The horse’s garden
I Kid you Not – 1001 Shades of Green
Polyathia Longiflora Pendula – maybe my favourite tree, certainly the most exciting ‘discovery’ with its willow-like leaves and cypress pine like growth.
Dambala, Wing bean, delicious as a sambol
Karavila – Bitter Gourd. Like coffee, the taste of karavilla is nothing like the way it looks!
Kohila – how tender are those lance-like shoots, how crunchy those stems!
Kola kanda (green food) a soup of wild greens, garlic, rice and a little second coconut milk – the first food for children, and often a 3am treat at monasteries and meditation centres.
Kumari served my kiri bath on portionos of banana leaf
Lets hop in with Wasantha’s Grass Green Stereo Machine and see what’s happening
Big shady trees aren’t confined to the ‘wet’ zones – here, on the Anuradhapura Road all about was burnt brown by the sun, still, it was cool under these trees.
A little green tuk tuk inches its way through the crowds at the offering stalls, Kandy
White accentuates the green – what would one be without the other? Mihintale
Bodhi shade, Anuradhapura
The fabulously pointy leaves of the Bodhi tree are forever in motion, shimmering in the faintest breeze.
The Green Lantern. The exotic lanterns at the Satya Paul boutique in Cinnamon Gardens are always a favourite at Wesak
Oh, and just one last green thing – a little piece of wickedness I can’t illustrate. Our aged Biology teacher is famously reported to have declared “Just because frogs are green doesn’t mean they carry out photosynthesis.”.
Get the to other Green Galleries here.
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A gorgeous green gallery.
Thanks Debra! Now I’ve posted it at last, i can go and look at others 🙂
You have shown me every one of my favourite greens! Love the sign-off quote.
I wonder if she ever said it? I wouldn’t be surprised if the story is as old as she, poor dear 🙂
Wow!, lots of green from your place I envy you (“,)
Ah yeah – envy away for the next two and a half months 🙂
I love your greenness! There is something special about the green found on an island.
All that wondrous moist tropical air 🙂
Very nice gallery. I am afraid I didn’t have the patience to do more than half a dozen (and another half a dozen later etc).
Love the way you put that together, is that down to software, as I don’t think 2011 does that does it?
it’s the new gallery format – go into appearance, settings, gallery and hit something like ‘cool new gallery format’ and save the changes!
Thanks, I didn’t really like the old one that just posted boring old thumbnails so I never used it on roughseas, preferring slideshow.
Me too, though i did succumb sometimes when I wanted to highlight the photographs.
Wow! you live in a wonderful world of green. Love all the shades. Thanks for sharing.
I’m lapping it all up while I’m still here Deepali. Glad you enjoyed the gallery.
Those lanterns are beautiful 🙂 And so is the gallery!
Aren’t they beautiful/ I saw a few in Hong Kong when i was there once, but i’m sure they’re Indian, complete with Rajasthani mirror work 🙂
🙂 I also thought they looked Indian… I’ve seen them around at fairs…
Well I love all your shades of green and I think you have just about covered them all…. another few words of wisdom for your aged Biology teacher… not all frogs turn into princes whence kissed.. but apparently some give a wonderful high when licked…
Ooooh – don’t know whether I’d have been brave enough to tell her that 🙂
Wow. You learn something new every day: frogs don’t do photosynthesis? ; )
I love the many shades of green. Everything here is wild with fall color; our trees looked like they weren’t going to be very spectacular this year, but at the last minute, they broke out into bright reds and oranges and yellows. Gorgeous. In about a month, though, I’ll be longing for the tropical greens again.
Anne, it sounds beautiful, but I’ll stick with a more gentle transition, I think 🙂
Wonderful green gallery,TWLG! Love the green veggies you included. I don’t know how to cook the bitter squash, but have taste it once, it was a delicious dish.
The trick is to slice it very thinly,l salt it (like aubergine), then fry it. It’s then salty, sour, bitter and crispy – just marvellous to add to a cocktail of other vegetables as a malung – gorgeous 🙂
It’s this plethora of green that makes nature so inviting. Perhaps that’s why children prefer the box of crayons with 100 colors.
Do they? So they know the shading of the world? Of course, they just dont’t know how to illustrate it. What a perceptive comment Lynne.
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Wonderful and lush scenes! What a great series!
Thank you Phil – so pleased you approved 🙂
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wonderful greens!! and oh, so interesting. love those gourds!
Aren’t they beautiful? And so delicate.
yes!
Gorgeous! I love the one of the rockpool meadow, and the thing your biology teacher made me giggle. Another great post 🙂
isn’t nature amazing? Sp glad you enjoyed some local greenery, Jessica. 🙂
That last quote made me laugh out loud, Wanderlust 😀 Beautiful patchwork of greens. o relaxing.
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Love your green gallery. and the little bit of wickedness. 🙂
You know, in almost 50 years I never before took that out of school, but that’s the beauty of the net, isn’t it? Utterly public, and yet as private as a home sauna 🙂
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Such a contrast to our fall colors just now! By us, many of the trees are still golden and red. But as we drove to a shopping mall today in “the mountains,” we could see most of the trees at the higher elevations were bare. “Mountains” is in quotes because the tallest one here is all of 1,020 m in height. 😉
Hey, JM – I grew up on a vast and featureless plain, where any hillock was called Mount So and So 🙂 if the sun’s still out, this is a weird time of year, I remember … an increasingly monotone world, capped by this otherworldly blue. 🙂
Aside from the ‘greenery’ you have here, I love the way you describe them. Your choice of words is outstanding, your adjectives remarkable 🙂 I enjoyed this …
I’m glad you enjoyed it lee, especially the adjectives! I love additives, though we’re always being exhorted to drop them in modern writing 🙂
lovely gallery! 🙂
Such wonderful tropical green! Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic… too much green is never enough 🙂
Gorgeous gallery of green. Gracias!
Beautiful selection of green images.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
I appreciate your encouragement Francine 🙂
Fabulous photos, Wanderlust!
Thanx Tom 🙂
Green is my favourite colour and you have done it justice with your thesis. Thank you.
Now why’m I not surprised? 🙂 Glad you enjoyed a little green diversion from tropical climes!
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What a marveloius collection of greens! You have even got a green Tuk Tuk conveniently parked under that large shady tree 🙂 The pot in that gorgeous first shot gives it a special touch and I love the blending of textures in the Rockpool meadow. And how can I not like the eco-friendly disposable ‘plate’ that is an ubiquitous part of any traditional celebration here. Was curious about the accompaniments to the Kiribath.
I favour lunu mirris – a symbol of onion, dried chilli, salt, lime and pulverised dry fish. with sometimes the addition of a few shavings of palm sugar with the last mouthful or two. Most people, however, seem to prefer a protein curry (with lashings of gravy) – and I admit that’s scrumptious, but I love lunu mirris and am not mad keen on protein curry for breakfast!
Excellent shades of green… This was a fun exercise and lots of folk joined in. I love your selections. 🙂
It was a great prompt wasn’t it? Thanks for your supportive comments 🙂
ONE OF THE BEST GREEN BLOGS! The fern looks like what is called a Princess Pine here in PA. The grow through a vast tubular root system.Is this related ? It’s a wonderful clarity you have.
I don’t know if they’re specifically related – ferns often have disproportionately large tubular root systems! I’m so glad you enjoyed them though – turns out green gladdens my heart 🙂
And it gladded mine tooooo : )