BENGALURU:In the midst of the buzzing sounds of Mogappair, Chennai, rests Jaswant Singh’s quaint and sprawling garden that instantly transports you to a quiet countryside, away from the sounds of traffic, hawkers and hecklers.
Jaswant is a builder by profession and grew his garden pot-by-pot only out of interest, and began 35 years back. From humble beginnings like Korean and Mexican grass, he has grown to 300 sandalwood trees, each over 35 feet tall. He also has over 350 herbal plants, 60 varieties of fruiting plants, a variety of bonsai plants, a kitchen garden, indoor plants and even solar power unit.
How did this all happen? “I don’t know any biology or botany. When I started, we didn’t even have access to internet or any classes. I learnt by making mistakes, and I’ve made so many that I can't make any more,” he laughs, as he talks about how gardening need not be an exact science. “Variations are normal and there is no need to confuse yourself with so many rules. It’s like cooking- nothing is going to happen if you add two extra carrots. Ratios are not the bottom line of a good garden,” he opines.
Jaswant has installed sprinklers for water and is a firm believer in the old saying – talk to your plants and watch them grow faster. “I never believed in it until I stood in front of a plant that wasn’t flowering. I saw a little bud the next day and realised the truth in the old-wives tale,” he laughs.
With several plants including red aloe vera, oregano, amla, aswagandha, rudrasha, white radar, lotus, papayas, jackfruit, mango, brinjal, bitter gourds, and even Tamil Nadu’s state flower Gloriosa lilies, one might wonder exactly how large his garden is.
He also has an 11x11 tree house atop a mango tree. “I have a small garden! It’s only about 10,000 square feet and is inside the house. The first floor has vegetables, third floor has fruiting flowers and so on. We’ve managed space very well,” he smiles.
We ask the gardening maestro how his fields bore the brunt of Vardah.
“The plants were given support and were tied up. We also stood in the garden and held it with our hands, waiting for the wind to pass,” smiles Jaswant, as he talks about how everything in his garden went back to normal in 10 days. “Only the leaves fell, we nourished them back to health and in 10 days, nobody could tell that Vardah even hit our home.”
He has won the the Best Garden award in 2014, which was presented by ex-chief minister O Pannerselvam.