Terrace gardens gaining ground

Live in a high-rise apartment and yearn for some grass under your feet? Here’s what RT discovered
If you have been using your terrace just as a place to dry clothes or to lounge on warm evenings, it’s time you got more creative. In fact, many Ranchiites have already turned their terraces into gardens — complete with natural grass, seasonal flowers and even vegetables!
When Sangeeta Bajaj shifted to her new apartment at Kanke Road some years back, the first thing she did was place a call to a landscape designer from Kolkata.“We had checked out various flats in the city but zeroed in on this one because of the terrace space the builder offered us. Having lived all my life on the ground floor —complete with a huge garden, I was feeling nostalgic about it as well. Hence, I planned to convert the barren terrace into a garden. The 1,500- square foot garden, with seasonal flowers and fruit trees, is now the centre of attraction for other residents in the apartment,” says Sangeeta.
She, however, is not alone in her endeavour, as having a terrace garden has become a fad in the city. Asha Agarwal, who maintains an almost 1,000-square foot terrace garden on the third floor of her house, uses rainwater harvesting techniques to keep her garden green. “Our entire house was designed according to Vastu Shastra and this terrace, which falls in the northeast corner of the house, was left open. I got a professional from the city to do the necessary waterproofing on the floor and lay down grass and flower beds which cost us around `1.5 lakh,” she informs.
While it was Vastu that got Asha to turn her terrace into a garden, Rabindra Nath Sarkar, one of the earliest occupants of his apartment building, created one because he loves gardening. “I developed a liking for gardening ever since I was a child. We used to have a huge garden in our house with rows of trees and flowers. The booming real estate market and space constraints have made that a thing of past for the current generation. When I planned to shift to an apartment, I rejected a few places because they did not have ample terrace space, where I wanted to develop a garden. It’s essential to have plants around us. I even have a coffee plant growing in my garden and have brewed some homemade coffee a few times,” says a proud Sarkar.
Bouyed by the fad, Shankar Anand, a landscape designer says, “The popularity of terrace gardens has risen these days, mainly due to the proliferation of apartment culture in the city. Terrace gardens serve the psychological needs of people by providing greenery and a natural ambiance, apart from improving the environment,” he says.