Life & Style | Home & Interiors
The Gardening Doctor
The Rays have landscaped a barren expanse into a bright retreat that lends fragrance to the rest of the house.
- By Chandana Roy, Special to Unwind
- Published: 00:33 April 19, 2008
- Image Credit: Chandana Roy
- A D-shaped pond lined by a concrete arc serves as the focal point.
When he is not busy seeing his patients and running a clinic in Dubai, Dr Tapan Ray can most likely be found tending the beds and watering the plants in his garden.
“If I wasn't a doctor, I probably would've been a farmer. I'm no great shakes at gardening but I love nature and I know the names of most of the plants in my garden,'' he says.
It's a garden full of textures and colours. Jointly designed by Tapan and his wife, Arti, the landscape includes water features and flowering plants that offer year-round colour, beauty and fragrance.
Arti admits that her contribution to the garden is limited to giving creative inputs from time to time.
It is her husband who does all the hard work. “The garden is his baby. He gets up early every morning to work alongside the gardener,'' she says.
How it all began
The garden started taking shape three years ago when the Rays shifted to their new home in the Meadows.
After nearly 17 years of living in an apartment, they were more than happy to leave their garden-less and dog-less days behind.
Getting a dog was a relatively simple matter while establishing a garden in the sandy grounds seemed a tougher proposition.
The barren expanse of sand was a daunting sight but the couple realised that the bare ground was their blank canvas on which they could design a landscape to make their own style statement.
The first step, of course, was to prepare the site by replacing the sandy soil with truckloads of sweet soil.
Side by side, pipelines for sprinklers were laid for the lawn and drip lines were laid for carrying water more efficiently to the roots of trees and shrubs.
Instead of planting the entire stretch of the spacious backyard with grass, the couple decided to divide the area into three sections — a central paved area flanked by two rectangular lawns.
A delightful D-shaped pond in the paved area serves as the garden's centrepiece.
Another innovative design element is a concrete arc with four pillars, which frames the pond.
There are no climbers rambling up the pillars — a wind chime with terracotta bells is the only object that hangs from the arc.
“We wanted an arc behind the waterbody to add character to the place. We did not plant any climbers around the pillars because we preferred a stark look. Moreover, the falling leaves would have been bad for the pond,'' Arti says.
Initially, the pond was stocked with koi (a large ornamental carp originally bred in Japan), but, according to Tapan, they soon grew too big and started committing hara-kiri by jumping out of the pond, so now the pond is without any fish.
The area around the pond is paved with crazy paving and adorned with statues of children, cherubs, ducks and two dolphins squirting water into the pool.
Petunias, periwinkles and alternanthera link the area to the garden.
Metal table and chairs, painted white, complement the setting and create a comfortable seating area.
“We spend most of our time here. The ambience is so good — you can view the entire garden from here — and it looks beautiful, especially at night when the pond is illuminated,'' Arti says.
The border behind the pond features several China rose shrubs (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) with red, yellow and peach blossoms.
Altogether, there are 28 hibiscus shrubs and if there is an aphid infestation, each shrub is individually washed with a dilute soap solution and warm water.
Tapan admits that his fascination for the colour green extends to following such green practices and avoiding use of pesticides.
Another reason why chemicals are rarely used is because of Max — a handsome golden retriever who loves spending time in the garden.
“Max thinks he's the gardener. When I am working [on] the flowerbeds, he also starts digging the soil furiously and if you stop him, he gives you a puzzled look as if to ask, ‘I'm doing what you're doing, so what's the problem?' After fertilisation, we don't let him out for a couple of days but he feels extremely restless,'' Tapan says.
In the three years since they were planted, the trees and shrubs have already grown tall enough to provide privacy from the neighbouring villas and give the compound wall a soft look with their foilage.
Ample shade is provided in the yard by drought-tolerant trees, such as neem (Azadirachta indica) and damas (Conocarpus lancifolius).
According to Tapan, by creating a cool shade, these densely branching trees have cut down the electricity bill by almost 25 per cent.
The borders also feature flowering trees such as frangipani (Plumeria) with creamy white flowers, yellow bells (Tecoma stans) that bear clusters of yellow flowers and African tulips (Spathodea campanulata) with orange-red flowers.
These trees bloom in succession to provide year-round colour.
Flowering shrubs — such as oleander (Nerium indicum) with pink blooms and yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) — fill the gaps in the border.
Pots of colourful annuals, including petunia, verbena, periwinkle, ixora, canna and asparagus, jazz up the corners and stairs.
Feels like bliss
The paved section also serves as a barbecue area and has metal garden furniture under the canopy of a large green umbrella.
A blue glass bowl filled with water is kept on the table to attract birds, while shocking-pink bougainvillea provides colour.
The focal point of the entrance to the yard is a huge six-tiered stone fountain surrounded by metal frogs and a statue of a large fish.
You can hear the melodic sounds of the cascading water in the nearby guest bedroom.
The fountain sits on a rectangular pond filled with water lilies, snails and a foot-long suckerfish.
According to Tapan, the large fish draws uninvited guests such as cats but Max chases them away.
Using algicide or chlorine would kill the fish, so algae are allowed to grow on the fountain walls.
The algal build-up imparts a natural look to the porous stone walls.
The entrance to the area is shaded by a large tree, the Indian almond (Terminalia catappa).
This area also has date palms, pink oleander, night queen, lemon, pomegranate, crotons and bougainvillea.
An invisible element that you can find in every part of the garden is fragrance.
Several intensely fragrant shrubs and trees have been planted around the yard (see box) and during summer, the windows are kept open in the evenings so that the house is filled with the sweet smells.
Create a dog-friendly garden
- If possible, create a sandpit in a shaded area in your garden where your dog can dig to its heart's content.
Having paths will also allow your pet to run in designated areas. - Erect temporary fencing around newly planted flowerbeds to prevent your dog from digging the beds.
The use of large urns, raised beds and hanging baskets will also keep the plants out of reach. - Avoid growing cacti or plants with sharp thorns, which can cause serious eye injury to your pet.
- Most pups love chewing objects so avoid planting poisonous plants such as oleanders, castor oil plant, datura or Calotropis, to name a few.
- Avoid using chemicals unless absolutely necessary.
Keep your pet out of the garden after the place has been fertilised or sprayed with chemicals. - Keep compost piles out of your pet's reach.
Store fertilisers, fish emulsion and blood-and-bone meals in containers with secure lids.
Fragrant shrubs and trees
- Tree of sorrow or Parijat (Nyctanthes arbortristis): This small tree produces loads of intensely fragrant flowers that bloom in the evening and fill the garden with a sweet scent.
Each flower has white petals and a deep-orange stem that attaches to the plant. The flowers fall off in the morning, covering the foot of the tree in a blanket of white and orange. - Night queen (Cestrum nocturnum): This fragrant shrub bears a profusion of sweet-scented white flowers at night.
- Moonbeam, Chandnee or Tagar (Tabernaemontana coronaria): This shrub produces white flowers that seem to glow at night like the moon, hence the name.
The flowers have a delicate fragrance. - Gardenia: This popular garden shrub with dark glossy green foliage produces white, fragrant flowers.
- Pink oleander (Nerium indicum): This large shrub produces deep rose, white or red blooms that are fragrant.
However, all parts of the shrub are poisonous. - Yellow bells (Tecoma stans): This shrub bears clusters of fragrant, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers.
- Frangipani tree (Plumeria): This popular garden tree bears upright clusters of creamy white flowers with a deep-yellow throat.
Frangipani has been named after an Italian perfume-maker because of the sweet scent emanating from its blossoms. - Neem (Azadirachta indica): This excellent drought-tolerant tree is noted for its medicinal and air-purifying qualities.
It also produces an annual profusion of sweet-scented tiny white flowers every summer.
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