Veena Mani By Express News Service CHENNAI: Prashant Sathiaseelan grew up hearing stories about the scenic beauty, lush landscape and the green goodness of his parents’ hometowns — Thrissur and Kozhikode in Kerala. No wonder then that the mechanical engineer, who now works with Ford Motors, Chennai, decided to set up a garden at his home in Purasawalkam. From tulsi, curry leaf plants, cactus, air purifiers to creepers, Sathiaseelan and his mother sowed and nurtured several plants in their balcony. In 2014, the same time when Sathiaseelan moved to a new house in Purasawalkam, pockets of the city reeled under a water crisis. “I found a space in the terrace of my house to set up my garden. But due to water shortage, I couldn't water them regularly. I started giving away my plants to friends who had a good supply of water and retained a few plants for myself, like the tulsi. I reused the water from the AC duct to water them,” he shares. Sathiaseelan decided to make do with the plants he had but ensured he kept learning more about different plant species. “I used to go to these nurseries every weekend and learn about different kinds of plants. This is when I met a professional gardener, Alexander Rosario. He helped me understand the nuances of gardening, taught me different composting techniques and to create landscapes with plant holders,” shares the eco enthusiast, who about six years ago, started applying his learnings to enable other people to set up their gardens, under his venture Chennai Terrace Gardening. “I don’t charge for the ideas. I only charge if and when I have to manually set up a garden. One of the reasons I wanted to do this is because I did not want anyone to be deprived of green space. My intention was not to make money but purely to help people set up a sustainable garden,” he shares.Clients need to pay for the plants, pots, mud and labour. In the last six years, he has created about 50-60 green spaces in private terraces and corporate areas. Sathiaseelan uses the drip irrigation method to reduce water consumption. Visit Facebook page Chennai Terrace Gardening

Stay updated with all the Chennai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.