My Mom’s garden

As long as I remember, my mother had a beautiful garden. Owing to my father’s transferable job, we shifted a few houses. Both my parents shared a passion for gardening. So a garden materialized wherever we settled. My mother’s garden was the talk of the town. She would incorporate unusual elements using scraps and wastes to add interest for instance, old bottles to line the bed, or coconut shells. She would create a pebble pathway with stones she unearthed during weeding and ploughing. She even had a lawn on one occasion maintained with a knife, cutting the blades to size... no lawn mowers. People who visited would always linger on admiring the creativity and the blooms. It seldom mattered how big the garden was or small. It was always beautiful.
She would spend all her spare time in her garden. There were most varieties blooming…seasonals, annuals, greens and foliage, roses, lilies, gladioli, cacti and a host of other plants. Even before I joined an architectural firm and studied landscaping as part of the curriculum, I was familiar with many plant names. And I think my folks know more plant names then me as also more about plants! I am but a designer who designs layouts and puts together the plants according to their textures and colors weaving in hardscaping elements for aesthetics and function but I am not much of a gardener. I am a preacher not a practitioner! Though I love having plants, I have never been out in the dirt prodding, sowing or weeding like my parents.
Gardening is a family pastime. On most occasions, when we go visiting relations, no one ever leaves without a new variety of a Hibiscus or Ixora or an Anthurium. The list is endless. Any one procuring a new plant is sure to pass on the progeny to others. I like it, being part of a green family and I keep dreaming about having my own house one day with a lovely garden. Will I?
Coming back to my mother’s garden, my parents’ house is in town and doesn’t have lot of space for an elaborate garden but whatever space there is has been utilized and converted into a lovely splash of colors and textures. A look around her garden can teach a lot about the art of combining plants in an interesting pattern. I want to share it with all wannabe landscapers. (See also, the successive post)

My mom's garden... (contd)

What I like from a designer’s point of view is the informality. Things appear to have been thrown together. And yet they attain a wonderful sense of balance and harmony. There are not too many flowering plants if you notice and yet the foliage presents lot of interest.
It is a misconception that a good garden must have lots of flowers. Foliage is not just green. There are yellows and pinks, maroons and violets, other than all hues of green and brown. And these plants don’t have significant flowers. But they are still beautiful. Plants like crotons are quite popular but too common place.There are varieties of Calatheas and Philodendrons, Begonias, Dracaenas or the ubiquitous Rhoeo spathacea and the ‘wandering jew’. Notice how she combines a tall shrub with a shorter shrub or contrasting softer leaves with big leaves.

Why small is beautiful

Are you going to build a house? And is your brief to the architect to build bigger than your neighbours? Do you like big spaces? Do you insist on marble floors? Read on…

• A big house means a huge carpet area. While the cost goes up, it is also high maintenance. Back breaking work for you when the maid decides to take leave.
• Marble floors anyone? Marble stains easily. And over a period of time tends to absorb dust and changes its color. SO your snow white marble floor few years down the line won’t remain white. Marble can also get uncomfortable cool in cold weather.
• A 12’ by 10’ sized bedroom is comfortable with a single fan. A larger bedroom will require more fans else you will have very hot corners in the summer. A longer room is better than a larger room. So it’s better to build a 10’x 14’ room than a 12’x12’ room. The light and ventilation is more effective.
• A big kitchen is a nightmare if there are only 1 or 2 people working. Keep in mind the cooking triangle – wash stove and fridge. The closer these are the more efficient the kitchen.
• You can make a room look bigger with light colored walls, and mirrors.
  Splashes of color on the wall is a new trend and look chic. But you will get bored very soon and the wall colors are a little difficult to change. Instead, invest on multi colored upholstery and curtains.
• Keep the furniture few and less bulky that doesn’t take up too much space. And are easier to move around.
• A person is more comfortable in a room whose space is proportional to the proportions of the individual. A study where a person is likely to be alone reading a book or writing personal matter should be small. Imagine having to write in a room that is the size of an auditorium. A person gets lost in too big a room. A big room is okay if you are expecting many people to use it. The spaces in a house should be intimate. A long living room can be divided into many conversational corners which are more personal and intimate rather than one long seating area.
• Generally the cross ventilation in a small house is much better than a big house thus making it warmer.
• Think of a house in terms of spaces rather than rooms.
• Higher ceiling keeps the interiors cooler. Place the windows strategically for more light while cutting heat. Blindly giving windows all over increases the heat quotient of a house. Windows should be accessible so they can be opened for cleaning and ventilation.
• Don’t get into the trap of building many lofts. These tend to store dead storage which is best disposed off. If you must build a few, make sure you can access these comfortably.
• Provide a walk in closet near the entrance to the house where you can keep all footwear, coats and umbrellas et al.