‘Quarantine gardening’ blossoming big time

NAGPUR: Waking up in the morning and checking on those tiny saplings, flower buds and cherry tomatoes popping out has become a routine for ardent and passionate garden lovers in the city. There is a sense of satisfaction to see the plants bloom, they feel.

The lockdown period has hooked these people to what is being called as ‘

Quarantine gardening

’. Apart from the passionate gardeners, others too are taking up

organic farming

to turning

kitchen

into

mini garden

as a leisure activity. Some seem to be following the celebs who are uploading their gardening

videos

.

Some of the ‘gardeners’ who are actively take a tour in their home, kitchen and balcony gardens. Manisha Kulkurni and Ankita Masurkar love spending time in and around greenery. The organic plant shop they own is closed now due to lockdown but they both are trying innovative ways of gardening from the comfort of their homes.

“It’s an opportunity to practice gardening for my own self. It’s very relaxing,” Masurkar said. She has a beautiful and eye-catchy balcony and vertical wall garden, which has a variety of flowers, trees and saplings such as peace lily, jasmine, hibiscus, mogra etc.

She also has tomatoes, egg-plants etc. “My life has always revolve around plants and the quarantine period gave me an opportunity to experiment with more. I have flowers, indoor plants and I love watering and taking care of them,” she said.

For Kulkarni, the quarantine period is the best time to maintain and nurture her personal garden. She has a plant of purple cabbage, red and yellow bell-papers, broccoli, which is quiet unique. “Gardening gives me peace and I am making the most of this time. It’s very difficult to get these English plants in market now,” she said.

Varsha Pranjape, a hospital administrator by profession, loves gardening and whenever possible she spends time experimenting with it. She recently converted the tank of a spare air cooler on her terrace into a small garden and planted a variety of tiny saplings.

Getting all creative, she has placed plants and ornamental saplings in colourful hanging cups and pots. “I had purchased these colorful cups before the lockdown. We have a variety of flower, ornamental, hanging plants,” she said.

Simran Dua, who runs a shop that provides a variety of calming and air purifying plants, has lush green plants inside her home and in her balcony. She also has a collection of herbs saplings such as basil, parsley, cherry tomatoes, rocket leaves etc. “Finally, I am getting time to spend with my plants at home. I am loving it. There are various plants, from small to big ones, some in colourful baskets, pots and on walls. The specialty are these herbs,” she said.

Entrepreneur Vijay Dhole has a beautiful terrace garden having a variety of seasonal plants. “We distribute limes from a plant on the terrace among our neighbours. We also have sugarcane and sweet lime plants etc,” Dhole said.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.