Plants have been a fairly major part of all my homes. Potted plants formed my balcony gardens when we lived in apartments, and when our homes had outdoor gardens I felt doubly blessed.
I always put in my best efforts to care for and nurture these plants (with a vested interest, selfishly, knowing the pleasure they would provide me in return).
Some indoor varieties always made up part of my interiors as well, in living rooms, kitchens and even bathrooms, bringing in nature to give a fresh, vibrant feeling.
But uncharacteristically, when we moved to Chennai, I held myself back and decided not to keep any plants in this flat here, for two reasons: one, I wanted to keep life simple, and secondly, so as to not have to worry about who's going to water them during my recently fairly frequent travels. I've just been pacifying myself with the greenery outside, the gulmohar and peepal trees our balcony oversees, and the neem tree which literally droops into it.
But how could I not have any greenery inside the house?! To try and add some green inside I replaced the potted plants by cut stems of a variety of greens, mainly money-plants. I grew up hearing the saying that if you stole a piece of money-plant and it grew and flourished in your house you would prosper and get rich. I don't know how much truth it holds (it certainly doesn't seem to have got US anywhere! at least, yet) but do know for a fact that these plants are hardy and thrive with a minimum of fuss, while adding the required refreshing, green hues to my immediate surroundings.
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Balcony Garden |
