BHUBANESWAR: Who wouldn’t love a garden space at the terrace or backyard of one’s home? However, scarcity of space and lack of adequate water facilities has birthed the new concept of window gardening. Beds of flowers or herb plants are decorated near the window which not only enhances the inner decor of homes but improves the quality of air as well.
Orissa Post interacted with few homemakers and gardeners to delve deeper into the subject.
Debbala Satpathy, a homemaker and teacher, said, “Lack of time and space has always forced me to pursue something unique. So I chose to engage in window gardening. As I am living in an apartment, I planted few herbs like Pudina, dhania and small Lemon among others. The fresh smell of the herbs often makes me feel refreshed.”
Interestingly for Sugandha Padhi, who stays in a rented home, space crunch is the biggest problem in the city. “Therefore, I have bought some plastic, wooden, fibreglass, pottery, iron, cast cement and asbestos boxes among others to use them for window gardening. As we are already in the winter season, I have planted small Lemon grass herbs, colourful Gerbera, Tulips and not to forget fresh Jasmine,” she said.
She said, “However, watering these plants is a problem for me as my owner who stays downstairs frequently complains that water is dripping from my window. That has never stopped me from planting more trees.”
Noni Gupta, a working woman who runs her own catering, said, “I turn all my veggie waste into organic compost and I often use them for my window sill flower basket where I have planted Ranunculus, Gardenia, button roses and Narcissus herbs.”
Jolly Bisoi, a proud owner of many Brahma Kamal or Epiphyllum herbs, said, “Lord Jagannath loves Brahma Kamal. This prompted me to plan them in large numbers besides curry leaves, lemon grass, Mogra and seasonal Sebati among others. I always use herbs from my garden during cooking. The freshness of these herbs does soothe my nerves after a hectic day.”
The plants can be placed on the windowsill and shelves, plant stands, tiered tables, plant trolley and planters among others. However, permanent planters should have proper drainage. Herbs in window gardening must always be grown in good quality potting soil with rich compost.
Jayant Sahu, a Vastu specialist from the city, said, “Greenery near the kitchen and bedroom brings prosperity to the owner of the house. An added advantage of certain herbs is that these keep flies and mosquitoes away.”
Maheswar Khillar, a member of Kitchen Garden, said, “Those who can’t maintain terrace gardening should opt for window gardening as its affordable and easier to install. If one keeps a small water pond at this type of garden, birds can easily add more seeds to your planters or buckets.”
The upcoming trend of window gardening has certainly captured the imagination of denizens of the city as various plant nurseries are beginning to conduct weekly workshops based on this trend.