Amma’s Home Garden in Sri Lanka : Let’s take a Tour

Would you like to walk with me through Amma’s vegetable garden  and see what was grown there in last December? As of most home gardens in Sri Lanka, my mother (Amma) too likes to grow vegetables and other essential foods in small garden space she own. I love gardening too. This is why during most of my holidays in Sri Lanka I spend most of the time outdoors. These are photos of Amma’s home garden which I captured during last December holidays in Sri Lanka.

Why I share all these pictures so sudden?

Well, as always my blog updates are very late. But, due to the situation with Covid-19 and due to lockdown situations most people started thinking of food security. I know now there are many Sri Lankans who started cultivating vegetables in their home gardens. When I first heard of curfew in Sri Lanka due to covid-19 pandemic, I didn’t have many worries.Why? Because I knew that my parents and my parents in laws have some vegetables in their garden.  

I hope you like to walk through this home garden from Sri Lanka and inspire yourself for gardening.

Let’s start!

Tour around Home Garden in Sri Lanka

The most beautiful view for me was these chili plants. With red chilies,the plants were beautiful. But,I know these red chilies are really hot same as Chili Padi we find in Singapore.

After the chili padi plants, then here are some fresh bitter gourds. I could taste delicious bitter gourd sambola during my stay thank to this beautiful plant.

Here comes brinjal! 🙂

And one of my favourite vegetables,winged beans (Dambala).Check this Winged beans stir fry for a quick recipe.

Do you like Bandakka? Not my favourite. But,when you cook fresh Bandakka it is really delicious. I know because I was lucky to pick vegetable just before cooking. 🙂

This is also called as Ladies fingers or Okra.

Below is a banana pepper plant which we call as Malu Mirirs in Sri Lanka. It is spicy yet delicious when you stir fry or cooked in a curry.

Want some Malu miris recipes?I have shared few. Check this Malu miris stir fry and Malu miris with canned tuna . If you love more recipes, Stuffed malu miris and Hal Masso Malu miris stir fry are must try!

Well, now it is time show you the vegetable that makes my mother proud. Below are her cabbage plants which she grew in containers. Her home garden is near Athurugiriya, which is not well known for growing cabbages.

So, she is proud with these cabbage plants as she could grow these well. 🙂

She has some carrot and radish plants too in her vegetable garden. I hope to share those in another gardening blog post. 🙂

Now,it is time to see another chili pepper from Amma’s home garden in Sri Lanka.

These chili peppers are called as Nai Miris in Sri Lanka which is really hot. Yes,really hot! But it is good in a kochchi sambola which any Sri Lankan love to taste with boiled Manyokka.

She has grown red onions too.

And Ceylon Spinach! (Nivithi)

Although not my favourite,these Ceylon Spinach are rich in iron. 🙂

Some Ceylon Spinach grown in a hanging pot. It doesn’t look much lushes compared to the Spinach grown on the ground bed.

Below are Sweet potato plants. Soon you will see a recipe with sweet potatoes in this blog.

Till that check this sweet potato leaves stir fry which I shared before.

I found different edible leaves in Amma’s vegetable garden.

Below is Mukunuwenna which is good when cooked in a Sri Lankan Mallum recipe.

Below is another edible plant which is a kind of spinach. Called as Gas Nivithi in Sri Lanka,this is one of the forgotten foods among many. But ,it is still rich in nutrients.There will be a recipe soon! 🙂

Amma has some herbals too in her garden.Below are some polpala plants which she has grown for medicinal value.It is good as a herbal tea similar to this ranawara tea or even in a mallum recipe.

Now let’s have a look in to her Manyokka plants. To save space and to get shade, she has grown these manyokka plants in plastic bags. As per her it was an experiment to save space.

Manyokka plants were grown well. But the harvest was less compared to the plants grown on the ground.

Yes,we could eat Manyokka harvested from her garden during our stay.

Below is another chili pepper type. It looks like Banana pepper.(Malu miris). But,as per my mother these are not Malu miris. She said these are type of Varaniya miris which are delicious in a curry.

Well,are you tired walking with me through Amma’s vegetable garden in Sri Lanka? Yes,I am really tired.But I am much happy after finding these harvested vegetables.These are the activities I always enjoy.

I could pluck some vegetables and onions for our meal.There will be new recipes (hopefully) using these vegetables.

Till that let me know your idea about gardening?

Do you love to grow vegetables in your garden?

If you are in Sri Lanka,how is your home garden? Is it full of flower plants or are there any vegetable plants too? Let me know in comments. 🙂

Check these glimpse from my aunt’s home garden. If you love gardening,then you will inspire by looking at what these ladies do. 🙂

Read more articles on gardening:

• Amma’s Home Garden in Sri Lanka : Let’s take a Tour
• How to Harvest Leaf Lettuce?
• 6 Tasty and Easy to Grow Vegetables Perfect for New Growers
• Tropical Crops in Singapore Zoo
• Glimpse of a Sri Lankan Home Garden