It’s very common in my city, Bangalore to see tiny houses, made of hollow blocks, with no doors or windows, in large compounds. The land, of course, does not belong them the people living in these houses. They are merely caretakers to ensure that nobody trespasses or grabs the land. Yes, that happens as well, in Bangalore.
I came across a small house like that, but what was most surprising was the garden around the house. It was aglow with Balsam plants, red flowers all around it. I walked into the compound and asked the lady if I could take some pictures for my website. She promptly said ‘Yes’.
While taking pictures, she asked me if I wanted some seeds of the balsam plant. I was overjoyed and nodded with excitement. She plucked out a lot of seeds, pulled out some small saplings, put it into a small plastic bag and gave it me.
I told her “Thumba chenagide nimma garden (your garden is very beautiful). She said that there were many people queued up outside her house to collect the seeds just a couple of weeks back. Apparently, I was not the only one fascinated wit her garden.
She also had some spinach, green chilies, tomatoes, basil and chrysanthemums around her house. Which made me realize that you don’t need a lot of money to grow a beautiful garden; you just need a green thumb!
Now, I’ve planted the saplings and seeds in my garden. And they are flourishing, thanks to the generosity of the lovely lady in the little house.
Love for Gardening 