Terrace Gardening: Know how this couple from Lucknow turned the roof of their house into a beautiful garden?

Renu Agarwal of Lucknow fulfilled her hobby through Terrace Gardening, where hundreds of plants on her roof are promoting environment and healthy lifestyle.

If you have the desire to do something, then nothing is impossible, the path is created on its own. Renu Agarwal of Lucknow was fond of gardening since childhood, but her hobby got suppressed under the responsibilities of the family, but when the children settled down, she fulfilled her hobby and passion with full intensity. Not only this, she is also taking help from her retired husband in fulfilling her hobby, due to which she is also enjoying this work a lot.

This couple from Lucknow started Terrace Gardening on their roof, where hundreds of medicinal, ornamental, fruit and vegetable plants are flourishing. Her terrace decorated with thousands of plants not only enhances the beauty of the house, but also promotes environmental awareness and healthy lifestyle.

Childhood dream has now come true

Renu Agarwal, a resident of Lucknow, who is a housewife, has been fond of gardening since childhood, but she first got the kind of facilities that could help her fulfill this hobby. Then after marriage, her hobby got suppressed somewhere between the responsibilities of the family and children.

Renu says that now her children are married and everyone is settled, so now she is fulfilling her hobby, especially by doing terrace gardening on her terrace. Her husband and children help her in this work. Renu says that she has not taken any special training in gardening, but yes, she has taken a 3-4 day training from NBRI (CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute). She is learning the rest while working.

Which plants are planted on the rooftop?

This terrace garden of Renu and Pradeep Agarwal can be a great example for those who do terrace gardening, because they have not only arranged a lot of pots neatly, but have also made sections according to the plants. Renu tells that first of all they have made sections on the roof, like perennial plants are kept in the shaded area, flowering plants are kept in the sun, there is a section in which vegetables are planted. She says that she is very fond of plants, so she wants to plant all kinds of plants.

Changing thinking towards terrace gardening

Renu’s husband Pradeep Agarwal has retired from service. He says that initially he did not have any special interest in gardening, but when he saw that his wife loves plants a lot, he started helping her in her work. Along with placing the pots here and there and filling the soil, he also started helping her in bringing plants from the nursery. In this way, gradually his interest also started increasing and now he does terrace gardening with full heart.

To those who are afraid that how can he plant so many plants on the roof, Pradeep says that usually we all get the house built in such a way that one more floor will be built above it, so when we get one more floor built, we will keep a lot of things there too. Just while doing terrace gardening, one has to keep in mind where the beams are, where to give less weight and where to give more.

Also, make the soil of the pot in such a way that its weight is not too much. As far as water is concerned, usually there is no leakage in the roof due to the water in the pot. Anyway, nowadays there are many types of remedies for dampness etc., so you can get them done. Pradeep says that he also had this kind of fear earlier, so he called the architect who built the house and asked if terrace gardening could be done, so he said that you can easily keep 1000 pots.

What changes have happened in the surroundings?

Renu Agarwal says that when people from the surroundings see, they say that your garden is very beautiful, please give us cuttings too. So she has given cuttings to many people, due to which gradually some more people in the surroundings have started doing terrace gardening.

She tells that a lot of cuttings come out in the rainy season, which she distributes around, due to this, other people also plant trees at a nominal cost and greenery increases around you. Further, she tells that if someone wants to earn money from this and has space, then he can grow plants from these cuttings and sell them. In this way, it can become a good way to earn money sitting at home.

What things should be kept in mind while doing farming on the rooftop?

Renu tells that the most important thing for the proper growth of plants is the right soil, manure and sunlight. To prepare the soil in Terrace Gardening, it is good to add vermicompost and sand to it because it makes the soil brown and the plants grow well in brown soil. She also makes manure at home. Renu says that she makes compost by recycling kitchen waste. Along with manure and soil, there should also be proper arrangement of water drainage for good growth of plants. Apart from this, it is also important to remove rotten leaves and clear the weeds from time to time. 

Plant trees according to the season

Pradeep says that plants get damaged due to two reasons only, wrong soil and quantity of water. If there is less or more water then the plants start dying. Apart from this, they should be planted according to the season. Every plant cannot be planted in every season and he understood this after a long time. He says that every plant has a different nature, but the basic things are the same like brown soil, right amount of water, fertilizer and sunlight.

How do you manage gardening along with housework?

Renu says that after waking up in the morning, she takes a round of the terrace, then goes and finishes the household chores. After that, in the afternoon, she waters the plants and sits near them for some time. In the evening, she comes to the terrace once again and sits, during this time she sees where the leaves are turning yellow, in which water is to be poured, in which fertilizer is to be put, when to do the cutting etc.

Changes from pension

Renu says that gardening has been her passion, especially Terrace Gardening, so she never felt this work as a burden. If she is unable to water the plants herself due to lack of time, she gets it done by her helper, but she never forgets her plants.

Even if I want to, I can’t stop myself from buying plants

Pradeep says that every time while walking with his wife on the terrace, he talks about the fact that there is no place to keep pots on the terrace now, but whenever they go to the nursery, they cannot stop themselves from buying new plants, they think that oh! They do not have this plant and then they buy 6-7 plants and keep adjusting them in Terrace Gardening. Pradeep says that now he cannot do the laborious work of gardening, so he calls a laborer once a month and gets all the work done.

What is the future plan? (What is the future plan?)

Renu tells about her future plans that she is thinking of calling children during their holidays and getting them to plant trees. This will make proper use of their holidays and they will also be saved from watching too much TV. By doing this, children’s attachment to nature will increase and awareness towards the environment will increase.

Best option for retired people

Pradeep Agarwal believes that for those people who think after retirement that what should I do now, I have no work, I just have to eat and sleep all day, then Terrace Gardening is the best option for them. Because plants talk to you, so watching the plant planted by you grow in front of you will be a different kind of joy.