My Home is a Garden

A home filled with dozens of plants of every description? Hearing this Green Me was eager to document the microcosm of what seemed to be a vast green indoor paradise.

OUR URBAN CITIES AND THE LIVING BOXES WE CALL FLATS AND KILLED THE IDEA OF HAVING A HOME GARDEN. BUT GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN STILL HAVE ONE. ALL YOU NEED IS ACCESS TO A SMALL SPACE - EVEN A LEDGE - TO GROW SIMPLE HOME GARDEN PLANTS, BRINGING YOUR LIVING SPACE TO LIFE WITH VIBRANT PLANTS, WHICH CLEAN YOUR AIR AND INCREASE THE OXYGEN. VIBRANT PLANTERS THAT CAN SPEAK MODERN, STUNNING GROW WALLS, TOO! DREAM? NO LONGER.

Visions of a lavish indoor garden with no shortage of space filled my mind, but arriving at the Mohanti’s home in South Kolkata, I was pleasantly surprised.

Rather than a huge swath of space, the endearing USP of this indoor foliage was the scarcity of space into which all of the plants were accumulated!

In the midst of the pandemic with its dreary lockdown, Mrs. Indrani Roy Mohanti took the time as an opportunity to embark upon the mammoth task of recreating a natural world within the confines of her four walls. Neither did she have prior experience nor more than a casual knowledge of gardening, but it did not stop her achieving the feat… starting from near scratch, creation of a plant lover’s paradise. “I made full use of YouTube and the Internet,” says Mrs. Mohanti, “I could get the exact information required to get the task at hand done.”

"Once you have two-three potted plants, you will find your love is increasing for the greenery!" -Mrs. Mohanty

Upon asking her where her dedication towards this comes from she told me, “Once you have two-three potted plants, you will find your love is increasing for the greenery. You will become more conscious about the environment, you know, and it's a small step towards doing (something positive) for society.”

Further enriched by valuable input from fellow plant lovers, the trinity of will power, real life advice, topped with valuable information from YouTube - every time she hits a block or need information - makes her garden a flourishing thing of beauty.

Despite succumbing to the initial hurdles of making beginner mistakes and losing quite a few plants in the bargain, she was determined not to quit and her efforts eventually blossomed, quite literally.

Today her garden grows strong with over 50 varieties and counting– all well-nurtured and flourishing - making her journey truly remarkable from novice to expert.

“We should be more conscious about our environments, we should, in our little ways, extend our hand in propagating greenery in our lives. I feel that each of us should do some things to maintain greenery in some form or the other.”
Isn’t it a lot of work for the average person, I wonder aloud. Mrs. Mohanti replies, “I feel also, but you're just doing a one little bit, which provides you with awareness as well as a lot of pleasure. It's like keeping a pet.”

If you love it, then… you can do it!

Need more inspiration? …here's a YouTube video to watch!

How to Green Your Home