Walking in the green pastures

Verdant Stretch

A green patch in the courtyard of any house is a paradise in itself and a feast for the eyes and senses.  The serenity of the surroundings sinks into one’s being and gardens can be a great stress buster. With more and more concrete structures coming up in the City, people hardly find space for a garden.

 Metrolife asks people how a garden relieves them of their stress and pressures in life.
“The very essence lies in the colour green and the smell of wet earth, which relaxes the primal brain and soothes the human cells. It’s an imaginary world of silence where I unwind myself in the gift of timelessness. With the birds chirping and the flowers blooming, it’s just an ultimate moment of absolute rejuvenation,” says Mala Sridhara, a professor of psychology.

Gardens can also divert the attention of people from unwanted thoughts.
“After a hard day’s work, it’s gardening that gives me the sheer pleasure of reviving myself from all the stress that I go through. It’s a great distraction from the dull and morose thoughts that bog our minds now and then. It indeed infuses a lot of positive energy,” says N H Pushpa, a home-maker.

She even talks about the frequent visitors to her garden. “The butterflies, squirrels and birds that visit my garden make my day because it is simply the joy of watching them that keeps me going,” she explains enthusiastically. She also says that it’s always an advantage to have a garden, which is a treasure trove of medicated herbs.

“These help in keeping the surroundings cool which is a great relief in summer.”The winged visitors that come to these gardens are another sight to behold. “My garden is home to many species of birds like the green bee eater, mynas, red whiskered bulbuls, pigeons, parrots, sparrows, spotted doves and many more, which are rarely found in Bangalore. When I see my kids jumping in joy looking at the birds, I feel so happy to have created a garden for our home,” says Sridevi, a home-maker.

Vijayalakshmi Ramanna, a social worker, follows the mantra that if you want to be happy forever, you should be a gardener. “It’s such a pleasure to see the flowers bloom in all their glory and the dew drops on them every morning. Plus the cuckoo’s call fills my heart with an indefinable joy that words fail to explain,” she says.

Vijayalakshmi S Dhinil, an HR, doesn’t have a garden because of her surroundings. She feels gardens can help her handle stressful situations at work. “I live in a very crowded place surrounded by buildings. I usually take a walk in Cubbon Park every morning and get some fresh air. It’s a fantastic experience to breathe fresh air and watch the pigeons fly in big numbers. In fact, it helps me keep my cool and manage any kind of stressful situation in office.”

With gardening, one is sure to garner the joys of being with nature, revitalise the mind and also free oneself from all the stress busters.