It was a few months back when, while waiting for my daughter’s school bus, I caught a glimpse of ‘something different’ in the AOH garden from the corner of my eye. A closer inspection re-vealed the ‘something different’ to be a lovingly tendered nursery, complete with soft soil beds, green net to create appropriate microclimate, tree cover for shade and just moist, not wet growing medium.
The sight was a treat. I was excited to ‘find’ it and eager to discover the Who? When? Why? behind the nursery.
Asking around only grew the enigma of this secret little garden. In the manner of a true visionary, our AOA had seen how buying seasonal saplings is a drain on the Community’s kitty and initiated the project to grow our plants ‘from seed’.
To plan is one, to implement another and implement successfully they did. In the last few weeks, the nursery bloomed into saplings of Gaillardia, Balsam, Kochia and Portulaca. It has been a delight to see many of them find way into our community gardens.
You can spot the green and gregarious Balsams & colourful portulacas on the walk above the swimming pool.
The nursery continues to abound with several saplings. As a community, we must appreciate this brave new effort by our AOA and able facilitation of the same by our hard-working facility team. To continue status quo, i.e., buying saplings from a seller would have been the path of least resistance and easy but this effort to create a sustainable model by growing our plants from seed is praiseworthy.
The inspired effort does not end here. Nikhil, from the AoA team, spoke enthusiastically of seed saving and growing perennials in the Hamlet Gardens! The nursery of today can be mother of the Eden of tomorrow.
by Roli Thapar (Flat No 11142, 9566043006)
