Watch your balcony blossom! Posted on July 20, 2009July 20, 2009 A few adventurous and creative friends have gotten together to bring some sunshine into your otherwise ignored or empty balcony or terrace! The folks at My Sunny Balcony (MSB) can suggest how to transform an empty forlorn space into a veritable green heaven… I was surprised when I walked in to Aqua’s house on Sunday after the MSB folks worked their wonders. Her outside garden space which had one plant and a few pebbles around it had undergone a complete makeover and looked like a million dollars! Complete with the sound of soothing water, a herb garden and beautiful terracotta pots, it was quite a sight. Aqua and I stared at her “green†space for the longest time and plans are now afoot to get a bench just in the right spot from where one can stare out into the garden! It’s amazing how therapeutic a little green in your life can be 🙂 So, folks : if you have a balcony going to waste and looking utterly dejected : all you have to do is call up the folks at My Sunny Balcony. Most of us living in flats have this experience of letting our balconies turn into storage spaces or worse still, lie empty. This is what the team has to say: “Any space that receives even a little bit of sunlight is a potential MySunnyBalcony space: A tiny unusable patch outside your front door, an ugly terrace on your roof, or even a back balcony in your high rise apartment. It doesn’t matter how high up or small your space is, we’ll work with it. We’ll also tell you what you can do and what you can’t. You’ll be surprised at the immense number of green possibilities that even a tiny amount of space can hold!” More in their words: “Welcome to MySunnyBalcony! We’re a group of garden enthusiasts dedicated to creating customized landscapes for urban environments. With almost no space left in the city for home gardens, we’ve decided to take our gardens up the elevator and into your balconies and terraces. We do concept gardens, designer balconies and terrific terraces. We have a host of theme balconies to choose from, based on your lifestyle and interests. Just tell us what you want and we’ll try and make it possible for you. A little herb or veggie patch that looks as fabulous as it tastes? Sure! A sunny spot with flowers bursting out from every corner? Why not? Or perhaps a tranquil zen-style space to contemplate in? With a quiet fountain gurgling away in the background? You got it!†Athreya, Reena, Shailesh and Sriram : the foursome who have started this unique initiative are very hands on : they will come by and provide you with what you need to do to get a super looking balcony in a jiffy! And they still do everything themselves : so this is the right time to catch them : before they become famous and have assistants doing the work 🙂 And it won’t be long before that happens : they’ve already been covered in DNA, 080 and other newspaper articles. This is a labour of love for these guys and the stunning makeovers they already created are testimony to the hard work they put in so that your space looks like a million dollars! More: — My Sunny Balcony — Contact them on: info@mysunnybalcony.com Once you’ve tasted the joys of a concept garden, a sunny balcony or a designer terrace – you’ll never go back to your empty space again! Share this: Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Print (Opens in new window) Print Living Nature & Wildlife Projects
Now for some food… Posted on April 18, 2007April 18, 2007 I’m sure most of you would have stopped at Kamat’s Lokaruchi on the Bangalore Mysore highway near Ramanagaram at some point or the other. It’s a popular stop for travelers and especially at lunch time, when they serve traditional South Indian meals in plantain leafs. I was of course super… Share this: Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Print (Opens in new window) Print Read More
Living What makes you feel alive? First rain! Posted on October 18, 2012October 18, 2012 Has it ever struck you how adults run in search of shelter at the sign of rain? I often wonder, when is it that we become so averse to rain? Share this: Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Print (Opens in new window) Print Read More
In search of the quiet life Posted on June 14, 2007June 14, 2007 A long weekend at Nersa, a village on the Goa Karnataka border The bamboo tree flowers once in 12 years. And once it does, it’s of no use anymore. The bamboo flowers attract rodents, which also tend to eat up rice grains, thus increasing the chances of a famine. That’s… Share this: Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Print (Opens in new window) Print Read More
Fantastic work done! Is MSB in Delhi NCR too? They do give tips also on- how to maintain afterwards? Reply
It was just last weekend that we attended a terrace gardening workshop by AME foundation (http://www.amefound.org/) and it was amazing one can do in balconies and terraces however small it may be. Though this was more on vegetable gardening, principles apply for all kinds of plants I guess. And you don’t really need pots to get going – they showed some neat tricks(using plastic bags and stuff we throw away) on containers that could be used. So I am on the lookout for soil to get started. Reply
@ paavani: no branches yet! but i am sure they can once they’ve expanded! 🙂 @ priyanka: yeah, they’re in bangalore right now! @ jayadeep: you will get soil in any of those plant vendors on the side of the road. last week i picked it up from adugodi, near the cemetery! @ prathima: reena, athreya, sriram and shailesh! Reply
That was a refreshing read. 🙂 But here I am stuck in a different situation. I have a huge balcony and to throw in some green, I got pots, soil, manure and two plants, to start with. Next morning I see the plant chewed into bits and the soil dug out. Guess, our Boom (1 1/2 yr lab) doesn’t want space wasted on greens, as yet. Sigh! Reply
After shifting to Gurgaon, in last 3-4 months I have developed a complete kitchen garden and now we eat most of the times from our garden. Have planted lots of trees and its such a pleasure to look at them every now and then and see them grow. You can add some food and water bowls to your balcony and you would attract whole lot of birds, particularly in the early mornings. Reply
what a brilliant idea…!! best of luck to these guys and kudos to you for bringing them to the forefront. Reply
Vow!!! I was thinking of something like this.. I like the vegetable / herb garden idea and not just flowers… wondering what’s the impact on all this on mosquitoes.. Do they increase ? I really hate mosquitoes… anywayz.. really nice idea and all the very best.. will definitely take up their help when I return back to bgl.. Thanks anita for this. vasu Reply
hii Anita.. its an amazing idea to make your living place so beautiful.. and the photos are damn good :):) refreshing read:) Nlhar Reply
Hi, I have a rear balcony with terrible view. I don’t know how to block the view without comrpmising on the light and air. It is based on south west and is a combined balcony for my two bed rooms. Please suggest! Reply
hi, i just read about all of u in femina. kudos for the good work. i have a rectangular balcony connecting the bedrooms. i do get sunshine and my balcony faces the rear portion of a hotel in t.nagar. i have wanted to utilise this space for many years but to no avail. is it possible for u work a green miracle.my only request is can i have a garden which can look after itself if i take a holiday. thanks. god bless. Reply
Hi, needed to convert my balcony into a more lively space. I live in Pune and would appreciate if you could revert. Regards Bhagyashree Reply