Mary, Mary quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Dear nature lovers,

I remember in my childhood, we had a long stretch of land which was meant for two garages back to back. This was planted by numerous different trees. It was a place for our car parking, for our plants to grow, for us to play, for our dog to run freely and for my tabby to have her rendezvous with the tomcat 🙂

In addition to this stretch of land we also had a small garden in front of the house. Today when I bring up these visuals in my mind, I appreciate growing up with these “gardens” more.

Staying in my Mumbai city, one begins to value any green spaces you have in your apartment. Thankfully we have a small balcony. And this is our piece of garden. Yes, we actually call it that.

Essential points to consider if you are planning to welcome some plants home :

1) Balcony tiles – We had a budget when we moved in our own house almost four years back. So, Balcony tiles were not on our priority list. Of course, back then, we found the tiles given by the builder quite acceptable. Now, we are planning to change the tiles and I am sure the entire look will change once we do that.

A patch of artificial grass is also a great option.

2) Size of plants – We actually took the help of a nursery person to select the plants and the pots. He promised to maintain them every month too for a small fee. Result – we ended up with as many as twelve pots which were too huge for me to move by myself. The help he promised dwindled after a few months even though it was a paid arrangement. Hence, my advise is, choose the size of the pots such that you should be able to manage or maintain on your own. Get a variety of pots in different shapes and colors to enhance the overall look. I had gone for standard pots and later on I felt there were just so many options. Why did I go for plain brown!!

3) Type of plants – I believed the best advise was from an expert but, I was soon proved wrong. We took the advise of the nursery guy and bought flowering plants. We had informed him that there is no direct sunlight but there was enough indirect sunlight. He even came and saw our place. Instead, I should have played safe and bought indoor plants. I love flowers but, that option is not open except for certain type of flowering plants and it is very sad to see your plant grow flowerless.

Hanging planters also look very nice.

4) Professional help – It is difficult to get a regular gardener. If you find one, don’t let him go. If you don’t, be prepared to do the basic. A little digging, a little manure, a little water, a spray on those dusty leaves and a little love.

5) Balcony walls – I never thought I would write this. Yes, it is important to choose the color of your balcony walls because light plays a vital role in your balcony looking bright and beautiful. Any decoration or lighting you would do would be reflected differently because of the wall colors. I think this is one more change in our next major interiors.

Some frames on the wall simply look really nice. I have a friend who has her framed paintings on one side of the balcony wall and they look great.

6) Lighting – Any balcony looks pretty when bathed in light. During Diwali, it looks so lovely because of our lamps and our pretty lanterns. Choose a light which you could use for relaxing and reading. Make extra plug points if possible, which you can use for the lanterns and for the string of lights. It is very difficult to get all this done later.

7) Utility – Most important utility is having a water tap and a pipe in the balcony.

Another is a small place to stash your gardening tools safely. These will include the digger, the scissors, the fertilizer, the insecticide, wooden sticks, spray bottle and threads.

One more important utility tool is to have plant stands. They help you keep the floor clean and clear. Also the plants can be placed properly.

Initially we had a baby swing suitable for infants. We have spent so many rich moments singing songs, nursery rhymes and chit chatting as I swung my daughter higher and faster on the swing. Recently, we bought a bigger cane swing which all of us can enjoy.

8) Decoration – Each one of us has a different take on what looks beautiful. My aim was to get my daughter interested in our garden even when she was quite young. We started with animals, butterflies, animal planters (can you find the owl and the snail?), bright watering cans  and mud hangings.

On an after thought, We could have added more color for the pots, for the planters, for the hangings 🙁

Check out these cute felt animals we found one day in hyper market.

The flower pinwheels which we found in a stationery shop. You can see these in most of our photographs. You can even make one yourself with foam flowers.

And how beautiful some stickers look.

And the glass tortoise which was gifted to us.

You will also see colored stones and shells spread in each pot. Aruja used to remove all these stones & shells, wash them at times and place them again in her own way. It was something to occupy her but, be careful if your child would have the tendency to put any of these in their mouth.

9) Safety – If you want your kids to spend time in the balcony, make sure the safety grill is correctly in place. We have only the grill as given initially by the builder but, many residents have actually installed a grill from top to bottom.

The gardening tools need to be kept safely locked or out of reach. The stones and shells may also have sharp corners so take due care.

10) Caution – Over enthusiasm could make you go over the top when you buy plants. A word of caution from personal experience. Take on only what you can manage and manage to do well. It does end up as your personal responsibility.

Hope some of these would help you build your own corner of peace.

 A single rose can be my garden… A single friend, my world. – Leo Buscaglia

Love,

Poornima