CHENNAI: With apartments and residential complexes taking over the city, the chances of space available to have one’s own private garden is very bleak. So, what would you do when you get your hands on your own pent-house? Here’s a person who turned it into a bungalow, making space for an envious garden!
Creating a ‘green home’ space on her terrace, Renu Aggarwal, television personality in Aastha TV International and a gardening enthusiast welcomes her visitors by giving a tour of her garden. “The first thing you see when you enter my house is my garden and the temple attached to it,” she says.
“Ten years ago, I shifted to this house. I had a small terrace, and wanted to have a garden here. I slowly built one and here it is!” she beams. While, a terrace garden does not come easy, and needs care and attention to details such as water seepage, Renu says, she had it all planned. “We had a thick sheet of tarpaulin placed to avoid leakage. We grew real grass on it. I wanted to make my garden as natural as possible,” she explains.
With Korean grass, plants and a traditional Mandir (temple) occupying a main portion of the garden, Renu says that the garden is her ‘happy place’. “I live alone and travel a lot. So, most time you can see me spending time in my garden. I never feel lonely here,” she smiles.
Tulasi, hibiscus, frangipani, lemon tree, and maghaai paan are some of the plants, she grows. She shares, "Even the birds that visit my garden for water are my friends now. When they come to drink water and I talk to them…this place brings me close to nature.”
She making her own manure at home. Renu explains, “Twice a month, I use ‘gomutra’ (cow’s urine) and spray it on plants to keep insects away and also to enhance its growth.” Renu adds that agricultural bags or gunny bags are the best bet to grow plants too.
With plans of making her garden bigger and better she adds, “I want to have rock decor and I am planning to have solar lights in the garden so that it’s all lit up at night. I want to make this place more beautiful and I consider these plants my children,” she adds.