HaraMe Company

Scroll and read what shares about a garden that she began nurturing 5 years ago, in this article for Beautiful Homes by Asian Paints.

Full story here: https://www.beautifulhomes.asianpaints.com/magazine/decor-advice/gardening/a-new-delhi-barsatis-wild-green-secret.html

📸: Menty Jamir

A year ago, I helped a friend - Sumit Sharan warm up his new apartment home with plants in the balconies and some indoor spaces. On a recent visit, I documented the growth and the scale that these saplings managed to achieve.

We were mindful of making the gardens child friendly, added a water planter as a splash pool and to invite birds, put labels to identify all the species, grew vertically along the walls and with each visit celebrated new sightings.

Observations included new flowering, fruiting, other signs of growth, sightings of biodiversity (a new wasp nest, solitary bees cutting leaf blades, snails in the pond) as wells of signs of distress from mealy bugs, sunburns and mineral deficiencies.

Overall, it is always delightful to revisit gardens and see them evolve with the client and their family.

Birds vs dispair.

What is it like to be a birdwatcher in Gaza? My cousin, Dr. Sukrita Lahiri, a scholar on Palestinian gender studies, sent me this poignant piece (https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-palestinians-trapped-in-gaza-fell-in-love-with-bird-watching) by Marta Vidal and Ameera Harouda about birdwatching in Gaza, which prompted this comic, dedicated to the twin birdwatching duo, the Sirdah sisters, who co-authored the Gaza bird checklist (https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=123896).

From my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

OH SO inspiring! 😗👌

This is taken to the next level. The restaurant owner and chef is refreshing and just a joy to listen to.

Inside London's 'zero waste' restaurant | FT Food Revolution The FT's Daniel Garrahan and food critic Tim Hayward visit Silo, a 'zero waste' restaurant in Hackney, which rejects the bin, makes ice cream from waste brea...

Vines and climbers troubling an Agave patch.

Agave like this grow thick and needle-like pointy leaves. One is always cautious of never accidently walking into them. These thin vines are twining around the centers of young agave, forcing new leaves to grow tied up and twisted in ponytails.

What a bully!
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Feature from MiD DAY (6/Nov/2022) Mumbai edition on 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 first started as a way to do introductions with new clients. Then during the pandemic, it helped me reach out to former and on-going project sites for updates. Gradually the virtual format became longer and a service in itself.

I now offer consultation on garden design for people starting afresh in new homes / offices, as well as help with care and maintenance for existing plants.

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I hardly ever get to experience the gardens that I help people create.

Recently, I returned to Pallavi's balcony to take note of the growth and maintenance. I sat down amidst the greens in the meditation corner and was quite pleased.

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Some indoor plants I grew that feature regularly in Pallavi's reels.

Check them out here: https://www.instagram.com/Pallavi108/

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Remembering Pallavi's gardening project from earlier this year.

I met Pallavi when she and Ameya (a former client) moved in together before the pandemic and I helped bring form to their multi-leveled garden. Ameya then shifted to Bangalore and Pallavi found herself a lovely flat nearby in Delhi.

Over a site visit, Pallavi and I brainstormed about all about the planting possibilities. My job became easier as Pallavi shared her visions for different corners of this new home-to-be.

All I had to now do, was make them come to life with soil and plants.

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Vines have evolved to grow using many different climbing methods.

Without stepping into this fenced area in a residential garden in Mohali, I could spot three species grown on a sewer gas chimney by the homeowner:

◾ The woody one (probably dead) seemed like a Tecoma. With clinging roots, they adhere to rough surfaces of brick walls, stone and concrete.
◾ Perhaps dried out, the Tecoma was acting as a support for the twining Giloy, which on its own could never helix around the entire diameter of this chimey.
◾ The slow conqueror at the base of the chimney was a Ficus pumila, colonising one inch at time.

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