In a city of migrants, its not very difficult to find people reminiscing about something or the other ‘back in the village/native place/town’ they come from. In an ultra metro with super small personal spaces, lack of space and its abundance back home is a standard gripe. With it comes the fond memories of the guava trees, mango orchards, home grown vegetables and kitchen gardens maintained by loving mothers/maalis (gardeners). What if a small slice of that life could be brought to life right here in your own 1BHK?!! (Bedroom Hall Kitchen, a common nomenclature for single bedroom apartments in Mumbai)
When I moved from Delhi to Mumbai, I realized that the expansive gardens and balconies that allowed one to grow all manners of useless as well as useful plants were simply not available in a ‘cramped for space’ city like Mumbai.
But what I did see was that mumbaiites (much like their big city counterparts everywhere else in the world) are able to fashion the little space that they can afford into a style statement. Every article owned is highly utilitarian as well as a symbol of individuality.
What I didn’t find though were too many people keeping plants and not always because they didn’t have the space or because they hadn’t thought about it. Most people thought plants were expensive, difficult to find and manage apart from being time consuming and messy (a bit like having kids or dogs!).
Some people who did have plants swore about the healing effect a cup of chai by the plants could have on them. A few even grew stuff they could eat (lemons, chillies, curry leaves, tulsi (basil) topped the list) and ALL the people liked the idea of owning a plant.
I firmly believe that more people would keep and manage plants in their homes and offices if information about plants, the plant itself and the management of the plant was better organized.
Hopefully through this blog I would be able to dispel some myths surrounding urban gardening as well as provide useful, actionable information to the budding ‘urban gardener’
Over the next few posts I will try to feature articles, companies, products, nurseries and hobby clubs as well as dedicated gardeners who have information to share that may prove useful to the average home gardener as well as the corporate executive who may want to wake up to the sight of a happy plant perched on the ledge of his / her urban abode.
I will cover the following categories of plants to begin with –
1. indoor plants
2. small manageable kitchen garden plants
3. plants connected with feng-shui etc
4. exotic plants
5. office plants
The broad categories of content that you can find here would be –
1. plants (of course) – detailed descriptions of low cost low effort manageable plants that can survive the urban environment and erratic work schedules (therefore care of the plant itself) of their owners
2. nurseries – field visits to nurseries in and around
3. how to – tips from experts on how to manage your urban haven regardless of whether it’s a single plant or an entire ledge full of them
4. connect – a brief form that will help serve as a referral for wannabe urban gardeners
