Down to earth: dr satish narula

The purpose of making a garden at home is to be close to nature. Let all the things in the garden be natural. Do not paint pots or bricks if you have them in the garden.

The purpose of making a garden at home is to be close to nature. Let all the things in the garden be natural. Do not paint pots or bricks if you have them in the garden. It gives the garden a shabby look. It is better to avoid using bricks for bordering beds. At times such hard borders are also painted or whitewashed. It gives artificiality to the garden. Let the plants live with their natural colour and texture. In the accompanying picture the Buddhas Belly bamboo has been artificially painted. It is not good. The actual colour at this stage of growth is deep green. It would also have given a good contrast with the fresh growth of small specimens growing along in the same pot.

Can you tell me of some plants that attract diverse fauna? What can I do to make my garden more appealing to birds and butterflies?

Aman,Mohali

The birds etc get attracted to the fruit trees especially guava. The butterflies visit your garden when you have plenty of colour and fragrance. Include as many annuals in your garden plan as possible.

Please tell me that how I can set up a greenhouse in school?

Reman on e-mail

Since you want to put up this kind of structure,let me put the record straight. The green house is the one that controls climate conditions. The temperature and humidity are controlled with the help of computers. What you intend to make is the green shade net house. For this you can take the help of experts of any branch of horticulture department.

My mali wants to cut back the ber tree. Should I allow him to do so?

Preetinder,Chandigarh

Yes,he is doing it right. Let him do the pruning at this time.

Story continues below this ad

Can I add manure to my mango tree at this time when the rains are approaching? How much quantity should I add as my tree is 10 years old?

Raghbir Singh,Chandigarh

No,this is not the time to add manure to mango trees. The correct time is in December. As the mango season is on,add one kilogram of CAN (Calcium Ammonium Nitrate),Kisan khad per tree.

For gardening queries ASK DR GREEN at satishnarula@pau.edu

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
plants