Of Plants, Gardens and Random Musings

Togetherness – vertically!

RADHIKA RAJAGOPAL 

“Life begins the day you start a garden” says an ancient Oriental proverb. It certainly proved true in our case, bringing not only the promised “joie de vivre” but also serenity and harmony, an inner peace and tranquility to our life post retirement. We believed that we’d left our “gardening” days behind when we bid adieu to life in army cantonments with their ancient bungalows set amidst sprawling grounds and settled into a modest flat in a typical urban high rise. The lush green lawns, butterflies flitting among the colourful flowerbeds, waking up to the mellifluous notes of song birds in the fruit trees… all these were packed away in the dim recesses of the mind, to be revisited only in leisurely moments of self indulgence, during nostalgic trips down memory lane.

Once the initial chaos of moving into the new flat was over, life settled into humdrum routine – too humdrum and boring a routine! Why not try something new… a vertical garden in the limited space offered by the open balcony of our twenty first floor flat? With my husband, to think is to act. .. hectic weeks of consultations with both professional and amateur gardening enthusiasts followed; agonised poring over estimates and cost analyses; endless rounds of discussions on what type of a vertical garden – all green , or shall we make bold to include some flowering shrubs or at least some colourful foliage; innumerable visits to nurseries and garden centres to pick out the plants; ever so many plans to be drawn up and decisions to be hotly debated… the next few weeks passed in a whirl of activity. With the help of friends, we finally homed in on a green- thumbed handy man- cum-gardener who deciphered our muddled and often contradictory demands and instructions. In a reasonably short time our Vertical Garden was fully set up… and what a pleasure it was to behold! Adorning one full side wall of the balcony, one could catch sight of it through both the kitchen window and the dining room window – making us pause midstride at random moments throughout the day, enjoying the luxury of communing with nature, even so “high up in the sky”.

Now came the hard work of maintaining this vertical garden, watering, trimming, and so on. Like newbie parents with their first born, we too anxiously watched over our garden. And like first time parents, we too made mistakes galore. Although both of us had enjoyed the lovely gardens in our previous houses, we had no ‘hands on’ experience. But now we had to buckle down to it ourselves. One main job was to regularly water the plants. Our “gardener” had explicitly told us to water them twice a day -morning and evening – and we followed instructions meticulously. Imagine our chagrin when the plants, which had been flourishing initially, started drooping listlessly. By the third week, most of them were dying, if not already dead! Frantic SOSs were despatched to Debu, our gardener; he deigned to come, though it was much before his next visit was due. One look at the drooping plants and he instantly diagnosed –“overwatering”! The twice-a-day watering was only to be done the first week! After that it was to be just once a day or even less frequently depending on weather. And in our enthusiasm, we were literally drowning the poor plants! Talk of having too much of a good thing!

As you might have guessed we went to the other extreme after this and had the plants wilting from thirst… we were so chary of watering! Finally, Debu exasperatedly told us to “feel” the soil to decide how much and how frequently to water the garden.

But as one wise woman put it,” in gardening there are no mistakes, only experiments”. And so we continued “experimenting”… soon our plants were flourishing and our garden was a “thing of beauty” giving us immense joy! One glimpse of the vertical garden, with its variegated foliage ruffled by each passing breeze and the tender fronds of the flowering shrubs dancing in gay abandon along with the gusting winds… and the heart is instantly lifted up – all cares are forgotten, the mood brightens and the spirit is cheered.

There has been an unexpected bonus too. Because we made the vertical garden so tall (it extends the full height of the wall) it has fostered “togetherness” and brought us closer in our sunset years. The height of the garden means that both of us have to work in tandem for best results, especially while watering the plants. Even with a stool, I can’t reach the top two or three rows. So it definitely needs my husband on the stool and me down below to fill up and pass him the mugs of water. No, filled-up watering cans will not do, because it becomes too heavy to be lifted up above the height of the top row. A medium sized mug of water is the best option. And it has brought us together – these bi or tri weekly sessions of working attuned to each other’s rhythm, with the musical tinkling of the trickling water to provide a soothing background. It fosters calmness, and deep philosophical musings!

I find myself ruminating on the life-lessons this activity provides. As Browning said, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp,/Else what’s a heaven for?” One should indeed reach for the stars – in this case, a very tall vertical garden. To keep it green, we both have to work together. The one standing below has to keep up a steady supply of the filled mugs of water for the partner on top to do his job swiftly and efficiently.

Here too, as in life, each partner can forge ahead only with the support of the other. When both are fully attuned to one another, both marriage and garden flourish! Much like a successful marriage, the vertical garden too needs careful nurturing. The top rows have to be regularly brought down for a bit of “tender, loving care”. …, checking for aphids or other pests, soil top-up or change, trimming of too exuberant a growth, in short a thorough check-up, before being returned to their lofty perch.

As you can see, in this one ‘wall’ there is plenty to keep us pleasurably busy. It also provides an emotional roller coaster… the triumphant joy of seeing a newly planted seedling take root and put forth new shoots; the agony of seeing a beautiful plant dug up by marauding pigeons, its shredded bits strewn all over the balcony; the cathartic release of chasing away those pesky birds as they try to perch on the railings; the creative stimulation of the inventive mind devising schemes to dissuade nesting birds from roosting on the balcony…. What more can one ask for? Truly, a garden, whether vertical or horizontal, big or small, is a cornucopia of Nature’s bounty… it “adds years to your life and life to your years “.

Radhika Rajagopal is a proud army wife. She is a post graduate in English Literature who gave up her job as an officer in a nationalised bank to follow her husband across the length and breadth of India.