Look around this house and you notice plants — not just in abundance, but arranged with an eye for aesthetics. The varying heights, the various shades of green, and the way they are thoughtfully grouped together all point to careful planning. And then it adds up when Shivam Roy shares that he and his wife Adrija Sarkar both work with designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. In this home, beauty is as important as greenery.
When we got married a few months ago and moved to New Town, the neighbourhood was already green with beautiful parks, like Neem Bonani, close by. But we return home from work so late that the parks are closed, and we can’t enjoy them. Since we couldn’t go to the gardens, we decided to bring the gardens to us.
Now we grow Thai Peace Lily, Philippine ground orchid and Broken Heart. We want to purify the air in the house, so we also have a good mix of Snake Plant, Spider Plant and Pothos to do the needful. The plants are rotated between indoors and outdoors to keep changing the look of the house, and we are constantly thinking of ways to enhance their display. We pick up decorative items up from fairs, and even leftover motifs from puja pandals to use creatively. One corner of our house has a jungle-like theme, complete with wooden dinosaurs and tall plants chosen to match their height.
The drama queen of the house is the Fiddle Leaf Fig. The slightest fluctuation in temperature or watering, and it begins shedding leaves. It’s so sensitive that in winter, we are keeping the window behind it shut.
Another green section of the house
We have plants all over the house — balconies, living room, bedrooms…. Even the washrooms have Philodendron and Snake Plant, and the guest bedroom doesn’t have a bed yet, but it has — you guessed it — plants.
If you’ve watched the film Crazy Rich Asians, you’ll remember the night-blooming flower for whose flowering the family throws a party. We are proud of having one of those — a Brahma Kamal — that blooms once in several months. It really is worth all the fuss. The flower is stunning, smells heavenly, and lasts just one night.
My father and Adrija’s mother are avid gardeners, and they gifted us several plants when we moved here. And when they call us up, after basic pleasantries, they ask us to switch to video so they can see the plants. In fact, we’ve installed a CCTV camera too —not to watch out for thieves, but to look at their plants when we miss them!
As told to Brinda Sarkar
