Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 9

It certainly is a treat to walk in and spend some time in the plush farmhouse of acclaimed landscapist Surinder Pal Singh Dosanjh at Wadala village near here. Huge sprawling lawns, a tree house, plants grown in a bath tub, swings made of wooden tree logs, a fire place underneath a shed, beautiful waterfalls through huge rocks, a swimming pool and age-old and rare bushes and trees all around define what he calls a “simple, zero-maintenance garden”.

Dosanjh, who retired as a Senior Landscapist from Punjab Agricultural University, has served as the Advisor (Landscaping) for Punjab government, has undertaken the project of landscaping of Pushpa Gujral Science City and done various consultancy works, says that he does not have even a single gardener for his huge lawns. “It is the best past time for me at this stage of life. I spend all my day here doing pruning and training of the plants so that they acquire the best shape,” he quips.

The septuagenarian proudly shows around his rare collection – golden bottle brush tree, philodendron, Murraya exotica with scented white flowers, ballerina, oxalis, Russelia etc. “All of these plants are self-sustaining. Even if I am not around, anyone in the house can just water them off and on and they keep growing and shooting more foliage and flowers,” he beams.

Dosanjh has created beautiful beds of flowers all around with nasturtium, ferns and various flowering and foliage shrubs and creepers growing in them. He has decorated them with wooden fencing, huge rocks and other material available around.

He even shows the various iron planters and hangers that he has created on his own, far more designer than those available in the market. “I have used iron rods and rings available from various condemned items at my place like an old jeep, weighing balance etc, and have even cut and welded them in my workshop to get the desired shape.

The landscapist has shown a great teamwork with his son Inderdeep Singh, who is an architect. He too has partly contributed and helped him work with the hardware and set up various things including the tree house, which remains an attraction for his grandchildren and everyone who visits the family here. Dosanjh’s wife takes care of the kitchen garden which already has winter vegetables sown including spinach, fenugreek, radishes, lettuce, turnips and carrots. The kitchen garden has several papaya trees, lemon grass shrubs, mango and lemon trees.