When I shifted house 2 years back, to my new residence, my cousins and friends, knowing my love for gardening, thoughtfully gifted me new decorative potted plants. They withered away in a few days because of the excess fertilizers used by plant nurseries to make plants attractive for selling. I felt sad and felt responsible for their state with only the mud in the pots. That's when it struck me I could use these pots hanging on the grills, try to grow a small kitchen garden, which I always dreamed of. Setting everything else aside. I exchanged ideas with my friend, my cousin, and decided to make a small beginning. For starters, I plated met hi, mint and garlic on my kitchen window, praying that all goes well and my....my....it was a success and couldn't conceal the excitement as I shared by the joyful pics with my friends and cousins. Driven by this successful experiment, I decided to step up my game and plant whatever seeds I could get my hands on. It gave me immense pleasure to use the met hi, mint and garlic, I had grown in my small pot. For many days, they were my status on WhatsApp. The lockdown, due to the pandemic, has afforded me with much more time with my new-found love. What started with just 'met hi' etc one has extended to growing roses and Lillie's and, albeit in a smaller scale, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, chilies etc.
Many friends told me that they have a plant which has dried and wilted but, cannot be discarded for sentimental reasons. My response is, we make an effort to create a kitchen garden, and not mango orchards, which can wait. Filling up the pots with kitchen waste, with the top one third with soil, and so from the remains of that one dried plant we can create at-least four pots of good soil. My effort is very small, and I don't claim to be an expert, far from it actually, but a sincere effort, lots of online help, small space will open for us a new window of joy, positivity.
Nature is ready to surprise us, provided we make a small start. During the lockdown, we have read in the newspapers how nature is healing itself the sky being clearer, the noise and air pollution levels dropping, the chirping of birds in our cities which had almost become a sound once heard in the distant to past and more such moments. These stories have been uplifting for us, despite the havoc wreaked by the Coronavirus. Many believe that the wanton neglect of our environment has led the world to its present reality.
Each seed that sprouts, every flower that blooms, is a sign that nature thrives.
To conclude, let me say, there is nothing like a green hand, whatever we sow with love, grows with love thus we should "nature for the future".
We must save our environment and clean and clear. Not polluted our environment. Then we breathe clear oxygen.
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