Finding beauty in thorns

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 28

Big on aesthetics and versatile in their being, cactus adds an interesting element to indoor and outdoor gardens. Sculpture artist Narinder Singh seems to be in love with these dessert dwellers and has created a mini cacti terrace garden with 250 varieties and counting.

Known for creating masterful pieces of art carved from wood, Narinder has been creating a potted garden on for the last 20 years, picking up plants that not only exude aesthetic values but also come with natural homely benefits. “Cactuses are usually considered gloomy plants not suitable for home, thanks to some prevalent misconceptions about them. In fact, it is one of the most self-sustaining plants in nature and help in purifying the indoor and outdoor air,” he says.

He has 450 of them, out of which 250 are varieties of several cactus species from mammillaria, including golden barrel cactus, moon cactus, dwarf snake cactus, fishhook cactus and more. “I have flowering ones as well as few others. Many of these species I had to source from friends as they are not native to this region.” His holidays and day off work are spent with his cacti friends. “Cactus are great mood elevators, they can infuse positive energy

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