Our drive to Boston ! June '09

Our drive (shot from the car)

Not feeling too well,i pushed myself to pack for the 10 day trip to the Mid-west.Our final destination was Boston ! But we also planned to visit Washington D.C,New York,New Jersey! I was excited but was sceptic if the 14 hour drive would be too tiring !

We drove across three states,Ohio,New York and Massachusetts on our way to Boston! The drive after New York state was very scenic.The terrain was mountainous unlike Michigan.We reached Boston at 10 p.m.

Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculptur Park

Photo courtesy : www.meijergardens.org
Frederick Meijer Gardens

Spring is here and Pradheep and me decided to explore few places in Michigan that we had short-listed.We had heard about the Frederick Meijer Gardens at Grand Rapids,Michigan and finally one weekend we had decided to go.We were there just before 2 weeks to the Meijer Gardens.We were debating if we should go or not,because the weather forecast said that it would rain in the city where we lived.Finally we decided to go!I packed all our stuff made lunch and packed for the two of us.

Bonsai of White Cedar approximately 900 years old at the All State Michigan Bonsai show

We reached Grand Rapids and it was drizzling till we reached the gardens.Hoping that it was not a wrong decision to land at the botanical garden on a rainy day we went ahead with the Bonsai show that was the special feature for the weekend.I love Bonsai, amazed at how artistic
people can be."Bonsai"is developing woody or semi-woody plants shaped as trees, by growing them in containers. Cultivation includes techniques for shaping, watering, and re-potting in various styles of containers.The history of "Bonsai" stretches back to the Egyptian dynasty (4000 BC),the art was adopted and reformed by Chinese and Japanese later on.Pradheep had not seen "Bonsai" trees earlier and he was amazed at a few of them.I wanted to buy a "Bonsai" for home but decided against it as I was new to gardening and did not want to ruin a lovely tree by not knowing how to take care of it.

The Leonardo Da Vinci horse (24 ft high made of bronze)

The Frederick Meijer gardens is basically a botanical garden with nature trails,outdoor sculptor park and the botanical garden that had been subdivided into the tropical conservatory,carnivorous plant house,the arid garden,English perennial garden and the seasonal garden.I loved the tropical garden and the carnivorous plant house.We got to seem some trees belonging to the palm family,very much like the vegetation at India.The arid garden was also impressive as they had a lot of cacti and succulents that would grow to their best only in very warm temperatures and the temperature was very warm and dry at the arid garden.We also got to see few Pitcher plant at the carnivorous section.I had not seen a pitcher plant in real before so was a little excited.

Pitcher plant at the Carnivorous plant section

The sculpture park was okay, it was different, we were amazed by the bronze sclpture of the 24 ft horse.The sculpture was designed by Nina Akamu, an American sculptor.This serves as a homage to Leonardo da Vinci and his design to make a 24 ft sculpture at Milan.
We took a lot of pictures,had coffee at the Taste of the Gardens Cafe and drove back home.Was a good day.

Festivals and Places of Interest in Niligiris

From Left to Right My brother,grandma and me :)) (when i was 14 yrs)
At Ooty Botanical gardens

The summer usually commences with few traditional festivals that take place in Ooty.I remember visiting Ooty annually for the flower show each year.Our visits included the flower show,rose garden,Horse race at the race course and the dog show. My grandpa used to take me and my brother traditionally every year till i was in high school.The first flower show was organised in the year 1896.The flower show is conducted at the Government Botanical Garden during the third week of May every year.Elaborate arrangements are made to conduct the flower show.The flower show attracts large number of tourists from all over India.Flower show is held for two days. The floral decorations, Indian and Japanese flower arrangements, vegetable carving, flower rangoli, bonsai etc., are the few attractions during the show days. There is also a rose show conducted at the centenary rose park, Ooty.I have a photograph clicked with my grandma in the Rose garden when i was in high school,see how all of you like it ! The dog show was my most favorite , i used to be fascinated by the puppies when i was young.Good old days! Apart from this the fruit show is also conducted every year.Nilgiris is highly noted for its Horticultural wealth especially temperate fruits like apple,plums, peaches, pears, persimmon and citrus.There are a lot of places to see in Ooty.I have visited the Botanical gardens of Ooty,Centenary rose park and doddabetta.Doddabetta is the highest peak in Tamil Nadu.It is at the junction of the Eastern and Western ghats.

Conoor is a place near Ooty.I visited Conoor with my friend Anita to visit my collegemate's Reshma and Uma.We visited Sim's park and Dolphin's nose(which is a view point).Conoor is famous for it's tea plantations and trade.

Apart from Ooty and Conoor,i got to visit Kotagiri twice.The first visit was during my college days,and we just bypassed Kotagiri onour way to Catherine falls which is 8 kilometers away.We stopped at a place quite far from the falls and trekked our way

Photo courtesy:http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/

Catherine falls

through Catherine falls.Our college had arranged the trek in collaboration with Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI).It was one of my memorable tour.I got to see more of Kotagiri during my last trip to India, Dec 2008-Mar 2009 when i visited Kotagiri with my in laws.It was a memorable trip.