Me And My Garden

As a child lived in large bungalows, surrounded by greenery, I never did gardening but saw it happening all around me- observed fruits, flowers, vegetables, rice growing, watched trees, shrubs and grass, season to season.

Did not have pets but heard/ saw the frogs croaking, fire flies in the night, birds making nests, dog and their puppies on the road, cow and their calves in the dairy, migratory birds resting on tall trees and caterpillars, bees and butterflies, in the garden.

All this left an impact on me, given a choice of living in an apartment or a bungalow, after marriage, I choose the latter as it provided me an opportunity to do gardening. In my initial years I was a regular gardener- grass, ornamental plants, flowers and cacti grower. Since I was a fertilizer industry child, I would use inorganic pesticide and manure with ease.  With time the understanding of gardening changed- the need to protect environment and soil became the mainstay of gardening- started doing home composting, leaf compositing, using organic pesticides and manure and only desi seeds.

With the kind of weather Delhi has- harsh unpredictable summer and winter and also since my garden was west facing, I realised that we were not actually sitting in the garden and enjoying the lawn. Grass as a garden element needs lot of maintenance, along with while being a big water guzzler. So now, instead of grass I grow vegetables in the same area and enjoy home grown pesticide free vegetables.

My love for animals and birds took the shape of pots. Today my house is a mini zoo of terracotta animal and bird shaped pots and they all smile back. They not only give life but add beauty to the garden – so true to their nature.

Reach me at : Hahluwalia138@yahoo.co.in

Cell 981050 2046

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