‘Grow whatever possible for fresh, chemical-free food’

CHENNAI : At 70, RG Menon, presently settled in Kumarapatnam, Karnataka, feels that she has learnt the best lessons from her time gardening. Menon was passionate about gardening from a very young age. She moved to Gujarat after marriage before settling in Kumarapatnam. Though she moved around  a lot, she always maintained a garden everywhere she went. “It was at the age of 10 that I saw a pink rose plant in my garden that I was very much fond of. But I would pluck the flowers each time to check if the roots were still growing. Once, my uncle saw me plucking flowers and warned me not to do that. Then I realized how painful what I was doing is. From then, I took care of that rose plant and waited for the rains to come so that it would grow,” recalls Menon.

Though she never had the space for a large garden, she would keep money plants, tulsi, jasmine and other potted plants in her balcony. After marriage, she settled in Gujarat, where they owned a home and could build a garden. “I did not get much time after marriage, as I had to manage my profession as a nurse as well as responsibilities at home. Only after my kids grew up did I get involved in my passion. I began from the scratch: I collected seeds of varieties of roses, orchids and other flowers. Wherever I travelled, I collected seeds from friends, relatives and gardeners whom I found by chance,” she says. She kickstarted her passion with the multipurpose coconut. “My humble beginnings in gardening began with coconut, from which we got coconut water, fruit for oil, cooking and the shells to grow more plants,” she adds.

Menon says that she never used external gardening guidance, books or advice. “I always tried, experienced and learnt gardening by myself. It was my husband who always encouraged me to garden. We never had assistants - it was always his support and my interest that gave us good results.” As they were from Kerela, they always had a soft spot for banana plants. “My husband always loved banana plants. Though we shifted around a lot, banana plants were a must in our garden. In Kerala, we had a banana plantation in which many different varieties of the fruit were grown. We even carried a few roots when we shifted to Gujarat,  and from then, the banana is a must in our garden.”

Menon has a variety of plants in her garden now. “I began with coconut, banana and then started growing a variety of roses, jasmine and lilies. Slowly, I decided to try growing vegetables. I started growing ginger, tomatoes, chillies, bitter guard and papaya, which we also distribute among our neighbours,” says Menon. She even tried growing climbers such as bitter guard, pumpkin and bottle guard, for which she had to take extra efforts in order to create proper support systems. 

Every plant is special to Menon. “My garden is my second home. I woudn’t spare anyone who tries to harm my plants.” Out of all, Menon’s favourite is the jasmine and some roses. “I had an attachment with rose since childhood. I’m always on the lookout for rare varieties of it,” she says. One fruit Menon has always wanted to grow but never could is the Pomelo. “The citrus fruit (Babloos Lemon), is very nutritious.”