Network support engineer Asnov J.B.’s home in Ambalamukku is in full bloom. Pots of yellow and red gladiolas vie for pride of place with pretty Mexican sunflowers and hybrid pansies.
Asnov J.B.’s garden is full of flowers that attract butterflies and bees
Dozens of butterflies flutter around hot pink dahlias, pink and yellow zinnias and orange and yellow marigolds. In between, hardy indigenous varieties such as ‘four o’clock flowers’ and shankupushpam blossom in gay abandon, while the sweet scents of jasmine and rose permeate the air.
Asnov J.B.
“It gives me great pleasure to see something that I planted grow and bloom. My compound is rather small but I’ve turned it into a garden of plenty. I’ve also turned my terrace into a garden as well as the compound wall. I have planted flowers that can produce a lot of nectar, just so that they can attract butterflies and bees,” says Asnov.
Yellow galdiolus from Asnov J.B.’s garden
On the other side of town, in Kazhakkoottam, software engineers Sakthe Balan and his wife Saranya’s rented home is also set amid myriad trees, shrubs and flowering plants that they themselves planted. Asnov, Sakthe and Saranya are among a growing number of techies in Technopark who have or are discovering their green thumbs.
Sakthe and Sharanya
“I hail from in a village near Erode, Tamil Nadu, where my family are traditional farmers of rice, sugar cane and tapioca, among other things. So, gardening is in my bones. Growing up amid greenery, I wanted to recreate that atmosphere here. Also, I am a big fan of Nammalvar’s organic farming principles. We have a fairly large garden and it already had mango and banana trees. I planted neem, coconut, papaya, jackfruit and drumstick trees a few months ago, following Nammalvar’s idea that these trees are essential for each household. We also have a vegetable garden that my wife tends and I have planted several varieties of jasmine. We practise zero-waste gardening as well,” says Sakthe.
Sukil Ram’s garden
It was a childhood love for green spaces and gardening that also drove Sukil Ram, a network security engineer, to turn his small garden at his home near Medical College, into a green paradise, full of trees, shrubs, orchids and even grapes and passion fruit.
Grape vine in Sukil Ram’s home
“I’m happiest when I am pottering about in my garden. In fact, I always take the work-from-home option on the days that my gardener is scheduled to come, just so that I can help out with the pruning and re-potting/planting. Seeing my interest, my wife and kids have also begun to take an interest in gardening. My garden is more of foliage plants than flowering ones. I like to experiment with cultivation and that’s why I planted the grape vine and the passion fruit. I take pride in my garden,” says Sukil.
HR professional Anjana Gopinath is also a keen gardener, the kind who will travel to the ends of the earth just to buy plants. Her small garden is a sea of greenery with trees like mango, gooseberry, golden laburnum, coconuts and custard apple, to name a few, and the interiors of the house also hold her collection of succulents. “Everywhere I go, I stop at nurseries and buy plants, even when I am abroad on business trips. I follow Facebook gardening forums for ideas and the latest trends. I am currently into air plants because they are easy to maintain and don’t need much watering. We’ve moved into an apartment while our house is being renovated and I have brought along many of my plants to brighten up my day,” she says.
Asnov’s hybrid pansies
Given their tight schedules, finding the time to tend to the plants on a daily basis is the biggest challenge that these green-fingered techies face. Says Asnov: “If you are really interested in gardening, you make the time. Earlier I was on the evening shift at work, which gave me ample time with the plants. Watering is very important for flowering plants. In the height of summer, they need extra care and you have to water them twice daily. As I’m now on the afternoon shift, my mother helps out with watering in the evenings.” Anjana, meanwhile, has a neighbour who helps her with watering whenever she is travelling. Sakthe and Saranya make use of bottle irrigation whenever they travel. “We sometimes go home to Erode for about 10 or 15 days and by the time we return, some of the plants would have withered. Last time, we installed bottle irrigation and it has worked out really well,” says Sakthe.
