Teenvira, Alibaug
This Sensory Garden is designed as a learning tool to help you explore the novelty of nature through all your 5 senses of touch, sight, smell, taste and sound. Here you will find plants with bright colors, strong fragrances like Magnolia champaca (champa) and Hedychium coronarium (sontakka), sweet-bitter taste and a unique feel to their […]
Vertical Gardens is a new concept to grow plants on walls or on upright frames where floor space is limited. Vertical Gardens form beautiful natural screens that help improve air quality, provide shade and also serve as a sound barrier. Vertical gardening can be used to grow spices, herbs and leafy vegetables. This Vertical Garden […]
Butterflies are the most colourful insects in the world and India is blessed with a rich diversity of over 1,500 species. Butterflies play a vital role in the food chain and their presence is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Butterflies require specific plants for food and reproduction like Stachytarpheta indica (Indian snakeweed), special habitats […]
Wetlands are areas where still water covers the soil and the ground is very wet. They can be found in and along the boundaries of rivers, lakes or ponds. Most plants in a wetland ecosystem like Nelumbo nucifera (lotus) and Nymphea (water lilies) are coated with oil or wax that helps them to float. Their […]
In a kitchen garden, one can grow spices, leafy vegetables, fruits, tubers, herbs, grains and flowers. These gardens can be set up on your balcony, terrace, windowsill or any open space around the home. All you need is a sunny spot, soil, water and a few pots. Growing your own food is not only fun […]
Spices comprise the aromatic parts of tropical plants or the dried seeds or fruit of temperate plants traditionally used to flavour food. Some spices come from the bark like Cinnamomum verum (cinnamon) or roots like Curcuma longa (turmeric) but the majority are seeds like Ammomum subulatum (cardamom) or dried fruits like Piper nigrum (pepper). Many […]
Bamboo is the largest member of the grass family and also one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Certain Bamboo species can grow at a speed of 3 cms per hour! Bamboos can grow as tall as 100 feet in height and 2 feet diameter. Bamboos are widely used to make houses, mats, […]
Popular around the globe for their beauty and variety, orchids are the largest family of plants in the entire world. Orchids can live on the ground (terrestrial forms) like Spathoglottis plicata, attached to woody plants (epiphytic types) like Hoya wightii or even thrive under the ground. Orchids benefit their host trees by recycling nitrogen in […]
The genus Ficus, with its diversity of species, high productivity and its role as a keystone species in several ecosystems forms the cradle of life in most of wild India. The Ficus or Fig tree is home to birds, butterflies, monkeys and bats. Fig trees also hold great cultural significance; Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment under […]
Sacred Groves are forest patches traditionally protected by native communities due to religious significance. These undisturbed forests provide a safe haven to several species of flora and fauna since no form of life can be harmed in a Sacred Grove. Maharashtra has about 250 sacred groves, known as Devraai which provide many ecosystem services like […]