If you had asked me 20 years ago what my goal in life was, I would have said I wanted to live in a metropolitan city, make money, and lead a luxurious life. The dream of a luxurious life still persists; however, my idea of luxury has completely changed. Don’t get me wrong! I love money. In fact, I might even love it more than you do. But my reason for wanting plenty of it is different. These days, my ultimate goal is to own a small piece of land and grow my own food. I realize that my dream is expensive, and I consider it the most luxurious thing I would ever own. I don’t know if it was in my destiny or if something sparked the change in me, the concrete jungles stress me, and nature makes me calm. Another goal in my life is to travel, not to see cities or buildings, but to be close to nature. Even nature is one of the things that makes me miss my hometown.
Trust me! I was never a fan of gardening or growing even a single plant. The whole mindset changed when I spotted a money plant at my former office building. The building staff were kind enough to give me a stem, and I placed it in a glass jar. Even though it was not the best kind of money plant, surprisingly, the plant is still with me, and its growth ignited something inside me, a connection with nature I never imagined, not even in my wildest dreams.
The connection became strong when I shifted to an apartment with a large balcony. The ample space made me excited, and my journey of growing food literally sprouted from there. I started experimenting with the germination of chilli seeds, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw the tiny sprout for the first time in my life. I never thought I was capable of something like that.
We transformed the entire balcony into a little garden and luckily, we managed to grow some long beans, brinjal, spinach and of course, the chilli.
We were also surrounded by nature at that time; the ocean, the mountains and the trees made us feel truly blessed in life. Although we didn’t harvest large quantities, the beans, chilli, and spinach were absolutely delicious. I should say there is a clear difference between the homegrown vegetables and store-bought ones.
Unfortunately, we had to move from there a few months later and we had to rehome some flower pots, as the new/current apartment has limited space. We still managed to keep the money plants and grow some new succulents, a snake plant and a Peace Lily. So far, they are happy here, and I want to buy/grow a Polkadot plant in memory of one we had some years ago, which I killed by over-watering it.
I know my dream of growing my own food again feels far from reality now, but I’m hopeful I can make it happen at some point in my life. One more blessing is that my mother has been able to grow a fair amount of vegetables at my home in India, and she often shares pictures with me. I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my garden journey and maybe even found some inspiration to grow, at least a tiny plant of your own.
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