IMAGINE THAT a beautiful garden welcomes you, as you walk through the corridors of your friend’s residence. The very first impression would add to your flight of imagination.

Why not make your garden too beautiful or create one, if you do not have one. Some of you might say that you may hardly have the time or it’s something that’s tough.

The truth is that it’s so simple. All you have to do is, cultivate the plants with the help of seeds or through grafting according to its mode of propagation. Never forget to water the plants at the right time in the morning or evening, or as per the seasonal variations.

Keep the meadow grass and the bordering shrubs well pruned, to give it a design, an elegant appearance. Other than the pavement that leads you from the gate to your doorstep, you can add pavements in between your garden. Also you can have seating arrangements with light and shade, if space permits .

Apart from its aesthetic value or the fact that it offers a serene ambience, it could be a vocation as well. The sequence of planning, construction and care, if carried out systematically will save a good deal of effort and hard-earned cash. Through a few steps you can achieve this.

Planning & Survey

A Plan to gather the required information through observation, survey and analysis will help to crystallize your thoughts, and put your thoughts into action. A simple survey of the different types of plants, its varieties and species in your region can be made. Based on which a checklist of the likes and dislikes of your family can be prepared.

For instance, the flowering plants like Jasmine, Rose, Lilly, Mayflower, Ixora, Caesalpinia, Hibiscus and Bougeinvilla of different hues and varieties can be collected. And heavenly plants like Paarijatham, Kanikonna, Thumba, Thulasi and the water plants Lotus and Waterlilly, Shangupuspam on the tendrils as climbers are characteristic of Kerala.

Indoor plants like Anthurium, Aglaonema, and Begonia; orchids like Cycas, Cryptanthus, Cordyline, Aloe, Ehnocactus and the different species of Palms and climbers like Money Plant etc. too can be found.

Design

Once the survey and the basic analysis are complete, the next step is to evolve a design. To begin with draw the plot area to scale.

Prior to that one has to think about the style and the character. Style exists in the different levels; the two important levels relate to the kind of garden you wish to create and the way in which your garden co-exists with the environs, the landscape.

The local character of the area or the material used refers to the paving materials made of bricks or tiles. Architectural patterns in shapes, levels, curves in gardening, light and shade etc, can be created.

The shape of the gardens can be rectangular, square or long narrow. It is the lawn that offers a shape to the garden. Lawns are areas of grass or long grass that’s regularly pruned or it can be a cultivated meadow.

The levels of the garden can be on raised beds, beside the lawns or on the slopes. Too many levels complicate the design and sloping gardens are more expensive than level gardens.

Construction

Apart from fencing, construction of the boundary wall, pavements, which forms the basic skeleton of a garden there are other hardcore aspects, the various ways in which water can be handled –fountains, together with rock outcrops and swimming pools.

Barbecuing seems to be a trend to resist the hot summers and can be incorporated in an area that includes seating arrangements, overhead beams, umbrellas and awnings. Also the furnishings and decorations with statues on a pedestal adds to the charm.

Planting:

Though planting is a vital element in gardening that brings to life the whole process of gardening, all the other aspects cannot be sidelined. Herbs and shrubs can be planted in the soil or in flowerpots.

Also stem cuttings can be used for vegetative propagation as in the case of Rose, Crotons, Moringa and Tapioca (Cassava) or root cuttings as in the case of Tamarind. The other common methods are layering and grafting.

Layering as applicable in Rose, Jasmine and Ixora, is a method wherein a ring of bark about 2 inches long is cut from the middle of the lower branches of the plant. The bent portion of the lower branch is covered with soil and is fixed to the ground by means of a clip. Gradually, the roots appear at the cut end and grow out into a new plant.

In grafting, the lower portion of a cut plant (scion or graft) is allowed to unite with the upper portion of another plant (stock) which is rooted in the soil. The scion grows out and develops into a new plant, which is of superior quality than the stock. The stock supports the scion and draws water and raw materials for the plant.

In Globba, the mode of vegetation is through bulbils. That is, in place of lower flowers, bulbils are produced in the inflorescence axis, which fall down and grow out into new plants.

Cultivation

It refers not only to the cultivation of plants through grafting but also cultivation of the ground to allow the plants to nourish the nutrients from the soil for a healthy growth. To cultivate the ground the best time is autumn, so that the rainwater and frost loosen the ground soil. But one should not dig the ground when its dry, for it can damage the structure of soil and affect aeration.

Irrigation

It refers to watering the plants, which can be carried out with the help of hosepipes, which is common, or through sprinkling irrigation with the help of oscillating and rotary sprinklers.

Fertilizers

It can be either organic or inorganic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers like the humus, earthworms, seaweed, woodchips, sawdust, or the compost can be more suitable to the soil.

Inorganic fertilizers like NPK [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K)] can be supplemented with the organic fertilizers.

Pest Control

Prevention and eradication of diseases in plants is a must to protect the garden. Pesticides can be used but one has to be cautious that it will not cause any harm to the plants. Natural pesticides like the Neem leaves is effective.

Types of Gardening

Based on the styles and sophistication, gardening is of different types. At the national level, the Mughal or Indian, Italian, French and Persian are grouped under the formal gardens. And the English, Japanese and American are grouped under the informal gardens.

The formal gardens have a geometric design or are arranged symmetrically. Straight and narrow pathways with Ashoka trees are the typical features of these gardens.

Informal gardens are those which are designed in a natural way after much thought, so that it looks fabulous and pleasing, but is not based on set rules or geometry.

These styles are related to the buildings, traditions, beliefs and preferences of the people concerned. With the changing trends in lifestyle, the types of gardening too have changed, keeping pace with the problem of space constraints.

Indoor Plants

Ornamental plants like Anthurium, Aspidistra, Adiantum, Aphilandra, Aglonema, Achimenes, Coleus, Chlorophyllum, Cocos, Jasminum, and orchids like, Cryptanthus, Cycus, Cordyline, Ethnocactus etc, can be grown indoors, near the windows, cabinets/shelves or at the sides of the doors.

Bonsai

Bonsai is the Japanese art of tray planting (‘Bon’ means a shallow pan and ‘sai’ a plant). Growing in shallow pans restricts the growth of the plant and that is the principle behind bonsai. The plants can be kept dwarfed, not by starving, but by various methods of pruning, viz., shoot and root pruning and leaf pinching.

Such trees are fascinating and can be grown indoors as well. Based on the number of trees grown in a single pot and the shape of the trunk, Bonsai are of different styles, like the upright style, winding, cascade, gnarled, oblique and so on.

Market Gardening

Cultivation of flowers and vegetables intensively and disposed for sale in the urban marketplace is referred to as market gardening. The common trees that you find in the backyard of any house in Kerala, are the Coconut (Cocos nucifera), Plantain (Musa paradasica) and Mango (Mangifera indica).

Other vegetables that can be easily cultivated are Chillies (Capsicum), Potato (Solanum tuberosum), Ginger (Gingiber officianalis) and Tapioca (Cassava). And with a little care, Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), lady’s finger (Hibiscus esculentum), Murraya koenigei (curry leaves) etc. can be grown.

Terrace Gardening

The one that offers the most charismatic presence, of all the different types of gardening, is the roof gardening or terrace gardening. But only such plants could be cultivated on rooftops that can withstand extremes of temperatures, winds and be resistant to some degree of drought.

Overhead beams and awnings can be used to break the force of the sun. To prevent the plant pots from direct contact to the floor, Timber decking is an effective method that can drain away the water under it.