Imagine dining under the stars in your lovely garden or cosying up with a favourite book in your balcony. Adding to these experiences are Beruru, ‘a garden reserve store for outdoor lover’. We love their collection of benches, umbrellas, planters, table sets, lighting, and other decor picks, which have a certain romance about them. Radeesh Shetty, founder and owner, Beruru, chats with The Telegraph on the trends in this space.

How old is Beruru and what does it mean?

Beruru launched in 2020 as a haven for everything you need for outdoor living and green spaces. The idea for Beruru came to my mind during an interaction with a customer. A young executive from a BPO was trying to find a terrarium to give a friend at work. As she rooted around the shelves, she told me how a tiny bit of earth on her desk was her only connection with nature. Colleagues would stop by for a talk and invariably notice this patch of green. That inspired me to launch the brand. ‘Beru’ means root in Kannada, and ‘uru’ meaning city, comes from Bengaluru, which is basically our way of celebrating the once garden city of India.

What are your bestsellers?

Planters are our bestsellers. We figured that while people can purchase plants from anywhere, finding good quality well-designed planters becomes a challenge. Well we have a large selection of plants that also attract a lot of our customers. The physical store as well as our recently launched easy-to-use website makes it a top choice for both beginners and seasoned plant collectors. Additionally, the outdoor-friendly furniture pieces crafted in cane, teakwood, polyrattan, beech wood, metal are some of the other favourites.

For someone who is setting up a garden for the first time, what are the basics?

The first step would be to determine the location and the lighting of your garden area. For most plants, sunlight is important so as to supply enough energy for photosynthesis or food for the plant. However, different plants have different needs, so confirm that the plants you select for full sun landscaping are also suitable for areas having partial shade, should your climate dictate this.

Secondly, plant selection. It is an organised process that examines several factors: function, aesthetics, location adaptability and management. Taking all these factors into consideration, opt for plants that will best suit your space and needs. Identifying your purpose for setting up a garden will help your cause. Basically… understanding the kind of feeling that you are trying to evoke in your garden.

Thirdly, get rid of any weeds and sod that would be in your planting area. Loosen the soil in new beds, before planting. This helps roots to grow more easily and helps them access the water and nutrients they need. Also, make sure to read the seed packet for information about planting time, depth, and spacing. You can use organic mulch, such as bark, compost, or cocoa bean shells to nourish your plant.

Lastly, if you intend on using your garden as an entertainment space, ensure that your garden furniture is always clean and visually appealing.

What are your recommendations for?

A terrace garden: Each plant thrives in several amounts of sunlight. While some prefer shade, others grow well in prolonged exposure to bright sunlight. For a terrace garden, you’ve got to make sure your plants get both, especially shade. Select your plants as per the local seasonal patterns. Tall perennials, including ornamental grasses, should be positioned behind shorter plants, to get different amounts of contrast in your plant combinations.

A balcony garden: If you’re growing on a rooftop, it’s going to be lugging jugs of water, you would possibly want to think about drip irrigation or self-watering pots. But again, the amount of sunlight is the most critical. Another thing you should be aware of is any extreme conditions. The higher up you’re , the more wind you’re likely to possess, and hot drying winds can quickly parch your plants. Arrange beds and bigger containers round the outside edges to define the area and space up the load.

A window garden: Growing herbs and ornamentals in your precious little window space is something that I really encourage for people living in condominiums and apartments. Your east-facing windows will support both sun-loving and shade-loving plants while your west-facing windows best support plants that require less watering. If you’ve got a north-facing window you’ll want to settle on plants that require less sun like ferns, mints etc. For a south-facing window, you’ll need sun-loving plants like tomatoes, which require about seven hours of sunlight each day to thrive.

A tea party in the garden: To keep things cohesive and simple, an assortment of your favourite springtime blooms and plants in a metal glass vase could be placed as a centrepiece. Dainty yet festive details like colourful birdbaths, sculptures and wooden tea cups will help keep your theme looking cohesive.

A barbecue: Invest in outdoor lighting throughout the space and employ brighter landscape uplights that cast warm white light and fully illuminate your space. Invest in a great grill set and self-serve coastal bar set before hosting your party.

How has gardening changed the lives around you?

During the pandemic, people around the world have turned to or returned to gardening as a soothing, family-friendly hobby. There’s increasing evidence that exposure to plants and green space, and particularly to gardening, is useful to mental and physical health as they appear to be therapeutic. Interacting with nature — even within the simple act of viewing trees or visiting garden-like settings — can have dramatic therapeutic results.

Secondly, we are in an era where our neighbours are strangers and gardening in a way has become helpful in community building. It provides you with a chance to form friendships with people whom you would possibly never have encountered otherwise.

And lastly, with the excitement happening now we have an organised sector providing you with those plant options which weren’t present in the earlier days. This movement has in fact led people to become more self-sustainable and encouraged them to grow their own vegetables.

During the pandemic, people around the world have turned to or returned to gardening as a soothing, family-friendly hobby. There’s increasing evidence that exposure to plants and green space, and particularly to gardening, is useful to mental and physical health as they appear to be therapeutic — Radeesh Shetty, founder and owner, Beruru

Are there rules while decorating your garden?

Whatever the style of your home, the ornaments used in the indoor can carry it into the outdoor landscape. The style of any tables and chairs you select has a big impact on the design of your outdoor spaces, but they ought to also feel cohesive with the other decorative objects and materials that you may employ .

You can always choose to dress up your garden with a dainty garden chair, sekitan planters, or a terracotta hanging planter with light with a birdbath in the centre.

What are your tips for someone who really wants to experiment?

There are numerous ways to plan your garden — from an easy but stylish low-maintenance garden to a more high-maintenance and involved design. The key is to think through the choices and choose which sort suits you best. If you’re the creative type and have a lot of time to spend on your garden, you can let your imagination go wild and fill your garden with artistic shapes. Think of where does one want plants and which extra features could you increase to make it really breathtaking and decorate them with some outdoor furniture and great lighting.

What are your plans for the brand?

We are thinking more than ever about how we could inhabit and use our spaces, and Beruru as a brand would like to be at the forefront. Through Beruru we are looking to create a calming sanctuary for people at their homes or offices.