When Sarika Agarwal began gardening, it was in her front and back yard. Over the years, the front yard got converted to parking space and backyard got usurped by the generator. So her 400 pots are now spread across the terrace while some indoors plants adorn her home and yet some more smile down from her second floor balcony. Fruits or foliage, vegetables or flowers, she has a corner for them all.
I moved to Salt Lake in 1990 and built my garden, pot by pot. The 90s seem to be a different era now, when people wouldn’t value plants as much as we do now. I remember buying a Cycus from a CJ Block nursery back then for Rs 100. The plant will be worth Rs 10,000 today and in fact, a Cycus of its size won’t even be available for sale.
I’m fond of seasonal flowers. In summer I grow the likes of Sunflowers and Jasmines and in winter Chrysanthemums, Marigolds, Dahlias and Salvias. And when they bloom I put them up in the driveway and balcony for all to see. Even during parties or occasions like Diwali, I pluck flowers and team them with lights and different kinds of vases and bowls as the centrepiece of our living room.
Winters are the time for vegetables and we have a rich haul of Tomatoes, both red and green. Capsicum, Cauliflower and Broccoli grow well too, along with Palak, Methi and Coriander. In summer, vegetables are limited to Lady’s Finger and Barbatti but even these taste marvellous. Just the fact that they aren’t kept in the fridge, but simply plucked and tossed into the wok, makes all the difference.
I like foliage too. A wall, that’s the first thing one notices upon walking through my door, has glass vases full of Money Plants and the like.
Among indoor plants are Snake Plants, Broken Hearts, Money Plants... I rotate them between the balcony and indoors as per their sunlight requirement .
Storms and cyclones can be devastating but I’ve devised a way to keep the plants safe. I circle small pots with larger, heavier ones on the terrace so they are safe.
I’m growing pink and white Bougainvillaeas on the second floor balcony and waiting for the day they cascade down the railing to the lower floors.
If you have a garden you tend to yourself, send your address and contact number to The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abp.in