The terrace at Pushpa Raju’s home on Periyar Road, T. Nagar, is a colourful tiny oasis in the midst of Chennai’s bustling shopping hub. If the roads below are all about blaring horns, petrol fumes and people ready to swoon from the heat, in Pushpa’s balcony, you can hear birdcall — courtesy, her flower and vegetable patch. The birds are particularly drawn to her flower pots, featuring varieties of hibiscus, nandhiyavattai (Tabernaemontana coronaria), kanakambaram (Crossandra infundibuliformis) and nithyamalli (Catharanthus roseus). There’s a riot of colours out there — red, pink, purple, white, yellow…
Much has been written about Chennai’s terrace gardens and the vegetables and fruits raised there. But, standing cheerful among the star vegetables are flowering plants that thrive even during the harsh summer.
Pushpa, 62, spends about four hours with her plants every day, and specially loves the star of her garden — chembaruthi. She has the adukku and molagai varieties and also the regular ones in varied shades. Then, there’s the orangish ‘Delhi’ kanakambaram.
Uma Devi Jayaraman, 54, planted her terrace garden, where colours rule, in October 2014 in her Virugambakkam home. She’s temporarily shifted to K.K. Nagar, but goes on a 20-minute drive every evening to converse with her flowers and vegetables. She has 25 varieties of Adenium, 16 of Table rose, purple, white and light pink vaadamalli (bachelor’s button), sunflower, and more than five of vinca and morning glory. Most of them began their life as seeds on her terrace. Besides adding colour, they help in pollination too. As a result, her vegetable garden flourishes. All that her plants thrive on are a regular dose of organic manure, watering and sweet talk. “You know what I miss most?” she says. “I can’t see the morning glory bloom because I’ve moved. That’s a sight to lift any spirit.”
Businessman V. Radhakrishnan’s terrace garden in RA Puram bursts with flowers, including deep-pink orchids, and he looks at it as a meditative space that recharges him. He has ixora, jasmine, roses, orchids and more that grow in the open and under a net, and rushes to the garden on his return from work. Among his suggestions for a garden that’s alive with flowers and vegetables is speaking to the plants. “I might sound silly, but it helps. I speak to them every single day.” Among his star plants is the heady-smelling parijaatham (Nyctanthes arbortristis). “It reminds me of childhood, of early morning bhajans, of cool Margazhi… that’s a lovely thought in summer.”
Expert speak
M. Jawaharlal, Dean, Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women, TNAU, Tiruchi, says that a multitude of tropical flowering plants last the summer heat. “It’s just a case of choosing your plants right. Those with bright-hued blooms cheer you up as also the ambience,” he says.
His top summer favourites are white and purple Lantana (creeping variety), desert rose (Adenium obesum), Marigold, Verbena, Portulaca, Ixora, nandhiavattai, Euphorbia milii, Jasmine (gundumalli) and dwarf Bougainvillea. “Some of these plants flower through the year and need just basic care,” he says.
The best time to start planning for a summer garden is in January. That’s a good time to plant seeds and wait for the saplings to show up and take root, so that they are sturdy enough before summer hits, says Dr. Jawaharlal. But, in case you’ve missed that chance, you can always head to the nearest nursery and pick up well-rooted plants that will yield flowers immediately. To add a dash of green, you could always opt for some non-flowering plants, such as ornamental ferns and succulent cacti that are hardy.
C. Radhakrishnan of Priya Nursery, Kilpauk, says people have been stocking up on ready-to-flower saplings of ixora, jasmine, arali (Nerium oleander), vaadamalli and nandiyavattai, besides crotons. These are priced between Rs. 30 and Rs. 150 a pouch, and have to be transferred to a growth bag or pot.
Summer tips
* Water plants twice a day, taking care to ensure that the leaves are not wet during the morning watering. The sun will scald them.
* Rotate the pots and planting bags, and ensure that delicate flowers such as roses and marigold get adequate shade.
* Grow bags are a better bet, as they are easier to shift.
* If you can’t provide a net, just cover plants with a wet cloth.
