Looking pretty: Geeta Gadodia, her daughter-in-law Kavita and her grandchildren at their garden. Picture by Hardeep Singh

A walk down the beautifully decorated pathway gives a refreshing feeling as one enters the house of Geeta Gadodia, a resident of Kanke Road in Ranchi.

The well-manicured garden on a four katha plot is difficult to miss in the area. Divided into two beds it houses a variety of seasonal flowers. The manicured grass provides ample opportunity for family members to play games. At the extreme end of the garden is a sunflower bed, which is in full bloom.

My garden: “My gardener Raghu handles the work of watering the plants. Besides, we try to incorporate as many seasonal flowers as possible. Whenever they arrive in the market, we make an effort to have it in our garden,” says Geeta.

A family that treasures time spent together, loves to unwind in the garden. While the elders comfortably seat themselves in the verandah and enjoy their daily cuppa mixed with conversation from work and home, children are seen playing amid the beautiful roses, lilies and sunflowers.

“As far as manure is concerned, we use cowdung and at times urea gives the plants freshness and also helps maintain its green colour,” adds Geeta.

Her daughter-in-law, Kavita Gadodia, points out that besides this they also have a kitchen garden. Vegetables like potatoes and onions are cultivated here which meets the demand of the family for up to four months.

“At present, in our kitchen garden, we have spinach, fenugreek and coriander,” she adds.

In the summer season the family enjoys litchies and mangoes of various varieties like the amrapali and langra. “We also grow three to four varieties of guava, coconuts and sakalu, among others,” Kavita says.

Even Geeta’s grandchildren, Devansh and Lavanya, enjoy attending to the garden with their grandmother.