CHENNAI: Creating a dedicated space for lush greenery can be a challenge when it comes to the congested city spaces. However, Abhay Kewadkar claims to be lucky when he moved into his space in 2015 at Benson Town, Bengaluru, which came with a terrace spanning across 2,500 sq feet.
Kewadkar went on to convert the massive space into a lush terrace garden. A winemaker by profession, Kewadkar was no stranger to planting and maintaining similar spaces. “In a city, one must consider themselves lucky to avail such a space and continue the passion on a terrace. With added assistance from a friend, we waterproofed the area, which is of prime importance, and further created pockets of soil for the plantation,” he says.
When it comes to planting, Kewadkar expresses his love for flowers, which he carefully chose, keeping the weather conditions in mind. The variety of flowers can be described as vibrant such as the red, white and yellow hibiscus, a corner solely dedicated for red and white roses and a spread of pink geranium. “The garden also has jasmine, temple trees (white and pink), bottle brush, anthuriums (red and violet) and for the landscape effect we have various kinds of palms as well,” he says.
Apart from flowers in full bloom, the garden also houses a variety of fruits and vegetables which is treated with organic manure. The list of essential greens in this space includes spinach, fenugreek, bottle gourd, broccoli, pomegranate, guava, lemon and a recent addition of strawberries. “We also have certain herbs such as dill, rosemary, thyme, mint and lemongrass. Apart from these, we also grow some ginger, garlic, turmeric and a rotational cycle of tomatoes, arugula and basil.”
Kewadkar states that the every day consumption of basic vegetables and fruits comes from the garden that he maintains with the help of a gardener giving the much needed attention to the space. “The space you see here today has taken over a year to develop, I was actively involved in plantation through my profession. The one thing you should remember is to start with a small batch and gradually carry things forward. It’s a learning curve.”
