Lawn love: A luscious ‘haven’ looked after by 3 generations!

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 30

A Punjab Avenue-based Minhas family (in Ladhewali) is a proud owner of a well-manicured garden. They also call it a ‘green haven’ where all parties and family get-togethers are held. The lawn has been so lovingly maintained that it exudes a green velvety look right from a distance. Try walking on the tender grass barefoot and one is likely to have a healing experience.

Gurbani, a law graduate, holds the charge of the garden in the palatial house, “Since all are mornings and evenings are centred on this lawn, we can’t afford to ignore this space. The grass is mowed regularly. Repeated cutting of grass ensures that softer tuft of grass keeps coming which is fresh, tender, light green and livens up the whole area.”

Besides being assisted by her mother-in-law Inderdeep Minhas and grandmother Prabhjit Minhas, she also keeps taking expert help from a gardener. I also started developing bonsais.” She showed bonsais readied by her out of banyan, peepal, cheeku, jade and other trees.

Nicely-done entrance

A decked-up entrance to the lawn and tiled steps lead one inside the garden. The iron gate with hanging creepers welcomes one to the house. There are small sculptors nicely placed here and there, including those in the shape of bells, chimes, lamps, Zen pottery.

Right in the opposite corner of the lawn is a huge waterfall and a water channel. “We are not currently using this channel as there are numerous snakes and mongoose around this area who get disturbed. They have their home among the crevices and gaps in the rocks of the waterfall. Neither they do any harm to us nor do we try to disturb their peace. It is a peaceful co-existence for all the birds, flora and fauna in our garden,” she explains as she points to a continuous chirping of birds in the garden area.

A fruity affair

Gurbani’s garden has a variety of fruit trees, including mangoes, litchis, cheekus, crab apple, oranges and lemon. The house has at least 20 varieties of palm trees, including cycas, date palm and traveller’s palm. It has some unique trees and shrubs as well – gardenia giving out fragrant flowers, tamarix with its beautiful pink cascade, rudraksh, passion flower, bleeding heart plant, birds of paradise and calla lilies to name a few.