She has over three hundred plants on her 1,000sqft rooftop and she loves to give her plants pet names like Rani, Konkona and Pinki. Beena Mukherjee, a resident of Telco Township, Jamshedpur, is a PhD in Bengali literature and her love for flowers and greenery made her the winner in the “My garden” and “Best flower”category in the Tata Motors Flower Show.

A compassionate person, Beena also runs the NGO Awaz. Well conceptualised, this patch of green certainly has all the ingredients to inspire nature lovers as it houses all types of seasonal plants.

Beena also owns as many as 50 varieties of crotons and 36 varieties of roses. “Gardening is not only a pastime for me, it also brings solace. Though maintaining a garden is not an easy job, my neighbours have given me ample support,” says Beena.

In her roof garden, one can see a variety of seasonal flowers. “I am a devout believer of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, hence his favourite tree Madhavi Lata is one of my favourite, too. The presence of Jasmine, Tagore, Rajnigandha and many types of chrysanthemum makes my garden a green paradise. The bloom of flowers brings immense satisfaction and therefore I try to maintain a balance between health and beauty. Hence, my garden has various kinds of medicinal plants,” Beena explains.

Beena prefers to mother her plants herself and thus has not kept a gardener. She strongly believes that one need not spend much on plants. “However, I spend around Rs 400 to Rs 500 every month to buy pots and manure,” she says. Her collection of pots is mostly from Bengal.

“As far as manure is concerned, I believe some domestic eatable wastes are useful for plants. Used tea leaves, egg shells and husks are beneficial for them. And even chemical fertilisers are not harmful if used in a correct proportion,” says Beena.

One need not water plants everyday. “I water them on alternative days myself.” As they say, too much of anything is bad.

Beena’s tips for fellow gardeners:

Generally, the cactus should be kept in the open, as they require more sunlight.

One must be careful and cut off parts of a plant immediately otherwise they can affect the entire plant.

Plants need protection from stormy winds and heavy rains.

Bone dust, twice a year, is sufficient for cactus.