They spend a fortune to feel one with nature

AHMEDABAD: Every morning before her hectic work schedule begins, Smita Shah spends some time in a ''hill station''. It comes complete with streams, waterfalls and ponds. Late evenings see her ''hill station'' lit up to enhance the effect.
After a day full of business meetings, Sharda Agarwal unwinds in her ''jungle'' with streams and ponds amidst a thick foliage of drooping plants and bamboos.For Agarwal, the best part of her home is her garden, a place where she loves to spend a few hours daily.
Her meticulously planned garden has also earned her the Gujarat Horticulture Association''s (GHA) ''Best Garden Trophy'' in a competition organised in February this year. Just as people spend on interiors for their homes, many like Agarwal and Shah spend large amounts for an unique private garden.
Some even hire the services of ''garden designers'' or ''garden consultants'' for the same. According to Jayesh Pandya, who has designed gardens for the state Raj Bhavan and officers in government services, gardens are increasingly becoming a statement of personal tastes. "A garden can cost from Rs 1000 to Rs 5 lakh depending on the area and features used," he says.
With the onset of the monsoon season, business is hotting up for the "designer gardeners". Gujarat Agriculture University''s former research scientist Dr K G Mehta, a consultant with the GHA says that after the earthquake many Amdavadis are discovering the joys of gardening.
"They shifted from high rises to tenements and can now create a garden. We have observed a rise in demand for plants," he says. Garden consultant Ashish Teli says that the ''natural'' look is in for gardens.
"Most clients do not want their garden to have a formal look or a ''made up'' look. They want it to blend in with the environment. The bottomline is that it should make them feel one with the nature," he says. Meenaben Dalal a resident of Ellisbridge says, "I enjoy gardening and have designed it all on my own. Ahmedabad''s weather though is always a dampener. Summers are the worst and special care is needed to take care the plants," she says.
Agarwal who had spent 50,000 when she first consulted a designers says, "I wanted to create a jungle-like look. One that would transport me to a place with streams and greenery. When I consulted my garden designer more than five years ago he suggested waterfalls and streams. I now take care of the garden on my own and keep changing the design each year but the jungle theme remains," she says. The interest in gardening has led many from nearby villages to sell their old carts, carved wooden bird lofts (carved ''chabutra'') and huge earthen pots on highways.
"These provide a rustic look. Many buyers from the city buy these, they colour it with oil paints and place them gardens", says a vendor who sits on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway. "Many also use stones and rocks from Dhrangadhra, Idar etc to create the hilllook. They basically want come home from their work and feel one with nature," says Nalin Pandya, another consultant.