The aftermath of the impact

"What do you want to plant in your garden?' dad asked me as he bent his knees to see my face. "Zunniah," I answered, I didn't know how to pronounce the word Zinnia yet. "What else do you want to grow there?" dad asked me, "Grass," I told him seriously. "Grass?" dad asked squinting his eyes at me on that bright sunny morning as we stood in his colorful garden. "Yes, grass for the wabbits (rabbits), you grow vegetables for us, I'll grow grass for the wabbits" I answered seriously. I was all of five at that time.

Dad was a serious gardener. His morning routine consist of a trip to the church, pampering his plants, caring for chicken, bath and office. He would be back in the garden in the evening. If there was something dad loved as much as his children it would be his garden.

All his spare time was spent in his garden. He did all he could to keep his family healthy in mind and body. He grew fresh vegetables and fruits. We also had chicken which took care of the protein requirement for the family. We didn't have a huge garden, we just had the small space in front of our house which we were allowed to fence in and cultivate a garden in the Railway employees housing quarters.

Dad gave me a small space within the garden to do want I want there. He helped me plant not just the Zinnias, he taught me how a flower grows from a tiny seed. Dad taught me to water the seeds and care for them from the age of five. "Neglect your plants and they'll die," dad often reminded me. I chose pink zinnias as a border for the grass and he made a tiny fence from bamboo which he painted in white for me. The grass I grew wasn't enough for my rabbits but I felt proud that I could contribute to their upkeep.

At the age of eight I meet Uncle Samuel our new neighbor. He was the Garden Superintend for the town's parks and gardens. He taught me the names of plants, and how each plant had unique needs. He taught me to do air-layering. I air-layered 10 plants and 7 were successful. Uncle Samuel was so proud of me. He taught me to love plant. He explained that plants were not special because they were rare or highly priced, they were precious because of their importance in the scheme of things.

After dad's passing away mom was too lost to take care of our garden. I stepped in remembering how dad and uncle Samuel cared for their garden. Later I moved to another city (Bangalore) for my studies and there I fell in love with the trees. For the first time I saw hydrangeas everywhere in the campus. Pinks and purples wove their magic in my thoughts and dreams. My hostel warden a lover of roses and she had created a huge rose garden. I helped her dead head the spent flowers and supervise the work of the gardener just out of love for plants.

After marriage I discovered that in the city space is premium. Our kitchen balcony had to make way for a dining space, nonetheless I planted flowers in window boxes next to the dining table. Soon I had collected more than two hundred plants and filled every balcony I had with plants. People in the apartment visited me to see how I set up my garden in that tiny space, they left in wonderment.

I yearned to have my own individual house with a tiny garden space . I hunted the whole city for such a house and found none within my budget. I decided to work with what I had. I bought the house of my choice and started a garden on my terrace. Walking two floors up and down wasn't easy, but when you love something you just do it out of love.

My love for plants turned into a passion, then it deteriorated into madness. I bought plants from all over the country. I filled my porch, the two balconies and our terrace with plants. At the last count my son and his friend told me that I had 1800 plants that was two years ago, now I guess I may have around 2500 plants.

My husband who knew nothing about gardening is now a good helper. He knows each plant by name. My sons who don't care for plants often beg me for plants when they want to gift their plant lover friends. They have learned to appreciate plants now.

The impact won't stop here, my boys will miss having plants when they set up their homes. This impact will be felt down the generations. My neighbors are greening up their balconies now. I am a proud city gardener.

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