Sweet fragrance of a variety of flowers, birds constantly chirping through the day, and the earthy smell that is always in the air (whether it rains or not); this is precisely how it feels to enter Mala Raghavan’s home in Bengaluru.

While most of the residents in Banashankari are still asleep at 6.30 in the morning, 74-year-old Mala is out in her garden with her hot cup of filter coffee, greeting more than 1,000 pots brimming with jasmine, dragon fruit, chrysanthemums, cacti, curry leaves, banana, brahma kamalam, and a dozen shades of hibiscus.

She probably looks at each of her pots with a motherly gaze. At 74, Mala moves slowly, careful of the arthritis in her knees, but two hours later every leaf has been inspected for pests, every creeper trimmed back, and the lilies in half a dozen tubs have been fed — along with the small shoal of fish that keeps mosquitoes at bay.

Roots in Chennai, blooms in Bengaluru

Mala’s love for soil began in the 1980s, when she was just 18 years old. Under her mother’s guidance in Chennai, she actively participated in gardening and learnt about flowers, fruits and vegetable plants.

By 20, she had graduated to their larger plot, and grew parijatham, manoranjitham, paneer roses, and even a cotton shrub.

After her marriage, Mala then moved to Bengaluru, and her hobby, travelled with her, too. “For a few years, I was unable to set up a garden because of family commitments, but after my children settled down, I could give all the time to my plants, whom I love like my children,” she smiles.

Today, the ground floor is dense with shanbagam, betel-leaf vines, and coffee bushes, leaving barely a sliver for walking. So 10 years ago, she lifted the garden onto the terrace and installed heavy-duty grills to prevent marauding monkeys — an investment that cost several lakhs but saved her harvests.

A garden that not only decorates the home, but also sustains

Would you believe it has been quite a few years since Mala bought flowers from outside? Also, the family’s vegetable purchases have reduced drastically, all thanks to her home garden.
Pumpkin, chow-chow, tindora, avarakkai, greens, chillies, tomatoes — whatever........

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