CHENNAI: No amount of money can buy you the happiness of growing your own garden and living with your plants,” says 52-year-old Kuchapudi Laxmi, a resident of Ayyappa society, Madhapur, Hyderabad. She owns 200-yards of bliss, that is a garden attached to her independent house. A yoga instructor by profession, she has won national yoga championships six times and received a silver medal from the Haryana Government in 2015.
Laxmi began tending to her garden in 1997, taking inspiration from her husband KV Rao. Since then, there has been no stopping her. “We had a love marriage, and it was our dream to have our daily morning coffee in our own garden,” says Laxmi.
In all of the 19 years of her career as a yoga instructor, she has practiced fitness routine in her garden. Off late, she has started writing and says that, if it were not for her plants, she would never have been able to take up this hobby. Sitting in the midst of her garden has always brought her positive vibes and thoughts, which has led to the publishing of her stories and articles.
“I like growing plants for greenery and I don’t focus only on flowering plants. This is because greenery, unlike flowers, is perennial,” she says. Laxmi spent her childhood in a rural area where green was the predominant colour. “I moved to Hyderabad after I got married. The atmosphere and memories of my village is what prompted me to start gardening in the city,” she says.
Does she have a favourite plant? “Jasmine. I connect with its fragrance. However, I am craving to plant Rekhamandaru in my garden. The plant is considered auspicious and having it at home brings good luck. Also, its extracts are good for hair.” Her garden supplies the family’s annual quota of mangoes and guava, besides their weekly requirement of leafy vegetables. “I get enough flowers for my pooja and some to send to my friends too,” she says.
Laxmi loves to spend time tending to her garden and goes by her instinct. Neither does she hire a gardener nor does she read books on gardening. “My husband is also a gardening enthusiast and we love spending time here.” She hires a helper once every year in June to change the soil and add medicinal fertiliser in her garden. She is thankful to god (and the municipality of course) that she has never faced a water shortage problem which would affect her garden. Whenever she travels, her relatives and watchman take care of the garden in her absence.
Her favourite go-to place to source plants are horticultural expos and roadside nurseries, whatever catches her fancy. She says that she spends one hour in her garden every day. “That’s 30 hours and `3,000 a month,” she says.