A fossil. 500 plants. And an aquarium with 10 shrimp and three fish.

Syed Alfatah Manzoor’s Bengaluru home is an aesthetic argument for how much an apartment in a metropolis can house. His 300 sq ft home is a moodboard of sorts, with plants decking every corner. As Syed takes us on a virtual tour of the home, he explains his green endeavours. Gardening is intuitive. He shares, “I’ve been living in Bengaluru since 2009. As a child, I loved plants; my father would bring back seeds from the market, and I would plant them. Cucumbers were my favourite.” It was during the COVID pandemic-induced lockdown that Syed revisited this passion. “Around June of 2020, I started building a plant space in my house. I kept adding plants to it; it was a very natural process.”

Today, his garden features an eclectic mix of 500 plants.

Is it possible to start a home garden in a metropolitan city like Bengaluru?

Syed’s garden nods.

All you need, he says, is some faith and good manure.

He spotlights four crucial steps to ensure your garden is healthy.

The secret sauce (soil)

Emphasising that people with home gardens need to pay careful attention to the soil, Syed says he relies on vermicompost. The worm castings enhance soil structure, while improving........

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