Her blossoming love for bonsai trees

Divya Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 23

Forty year old Ragini Sharma, Director (Finance), Amritsar Engineering College and Technology has converted her terrace into a bonsai garden.

It was the trip to Mumbai few years back, which introduced her to bonsai method of cultivation. At present, the garden has around 200 plants, which has been gathered over a period of time. Ragini, a resident of Basant Aveune, said, “I have always been inclined towards plants. In Mumbai, I saw bonsai technique of keeping plants. I came back and started to apply the technique.”

“In this technique, trays and containers are used to grow plants. Wires are wrapped around the branches to support and give shape to the trees,” added Ragini. Initially she took the help of internet to learn the technique and later attended some workshops in Pune as the city did not offer any professional help.

Sharma started collecting plants for her technique. “Initially, I would collect plants, buy them from nurseries. Even today, I get calls from people to buy plants from my collection but I have an emotional attachment with them. The plants are worth over Rs one lakh.”

An avid nature lover, she has also grown plants through Kokedama technique, a Japanese gardening technique. Sharma, who is also running an NGO named Jagitri, feels that taking care of the nature is the most important thing. She said, “Over the period of time, there has been awareness among masses about saving the nature but each and every one must be particular about trees.”

To motivate her students towards nature, an aquaponics unit in the college, Aquaponicis is growing vegetables with help of fish waste. The fish waste is used as nutrients for plants. She is also undergoing a course into hydroponics, a method of growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. “We have also a nursery in our institute. There are a multiple plants coming for students, ”added Sharma.