Garden of dreams
CHENNAI: To live in the garden city and to be known as ‘Garden aunty’ in the neighbourhood, Manjula Siddaiah says that she is living her dream, that of residing in a home with a beautiful garden. While many advised her to maximise on indoor space when her family was constructing the house, Manjula says she was firm in her decision that she wanted a large gardening where she could put her green thumbs to use.
With a 1,200sqft garden, Manjula is glad to have stuck to her guns.
“I was often told not to wasteland and money on maintaining a garden. But the pretty picture from my window affirms that I made the right choice,” says the 75-year-old.
A resident of Malleswaram, Manjula says that in the past, houses with gardens were common, a phenomenon that has now changed. “These days I hardly see that because everybody wants to build a big apartment and make money,” she says.
A part of her lawn is covered with the sweet-smelling crape jasmine flowers, apart from which there are at least 40 colourful decorative plants. Her manicured lawn and garden complete with guava and papaya trees is maintained with the help of her gardener. “Cleanliness is the key, and my gardener makes sure to remove all the unwanted weed and cleans out the dry leaves from the pathway,” she says, adding, “The leaves of the turmeric plant adds to the aroma when it is cooked with rice dumplings. I use lemongrass in my tea, which gives it a strong fragrance.”
In addition to its looks, Manjula has chosen plants with medicinal properties. In fact, the doors to her home or more like garden are always open to her neighbours and friends who often turn to her for advice on medicinal herbs. “The parallel growing Brahmi has helped children with speech issues get better”, she says, adding that the Indian Borage (doddapatre) and beetle leaves (Adike), which help in preventing colds and sore throats, are often borrowed by her neighbours.
To keep pests and even snakes away, Manjula has planted Amrutha Balli. Hard to believe but the same plant is also a “divine herb”, which prevents aging.