A view of the miniature garden at the workshop by Vanamali, City Terrace Garden and Mana Vegetable Garden groups held in Visakhapatnam to encourage terrace gardening in city.
| Photo Credit: KR Deepak
A Aruna begins her day with a quiet hour among her plants at her terrace garden in Muralinagar. Over the years, she has cultivated more than fifty varieties of fruit and vegetable plants that fill her rooftop. Dragonfruit and passionfruit vines grow alongside star fruit and clove beans. The garden is a reflection of Aruna’s long-standing interest in food, grown at home and without chemicals.
“For more than a decade now, my home kitchen has depended almost entirely on vegetables grown on my terrace,” she says. In addition to growing produce, she also maintains a seed bank, now housing fifty-one varieties, most of them sourced from farmers who grow them without synthetic inputs.
In the recent past, Aruna has noticed a rise in public interest around growing vegetables at home. She says questions have changed. Earlier, people would ask if this was possible at all. Now, they have questions about soil texture, seed quality, pest control and container management. With this shift in awareness and a significant knowledge gap, Aruna, along with two other experienced terrace gardeners Sarita Malla and N Jyothi, established Vanamaali.
A view of a miniature garden at the workshop by Vanamali, City Terrace Garden and Mana Vegetable Garden groups held in Visakhapatnam to encourage terrace gardening in city.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
Their goal was to support city residents who wished to grow food on their rooftops using natural inputs and regionally adapted seeds. Today, Vanamaali has more than 3,000 members. It is a city-wide network, coordinated through sixteen area in-charges, each of whom provides on-ground assistance in their respective localities.
Each month, the group organises meetings where participants discuss specific topics, such as composting with kitchen waste, creating pest repellents using neem and garlic extracts or balancing nutrient profiles in soil without relying on commercial mixes. These sessions are not lectures; they are discussions among people who are trying to address the same challenges in slightly different home environments.
The group’s seed bank, housed in Muralinagar, is an integral part of its operations. It contains 51 varieties at present, all of which are distributed to members based on their requirements and feasibility. “These seeds are contributed mostly by farm owners and senior gardeners who still use traditional cultivation practices,” Aruna explains. “We only pass along seeds that are untreated, open-pollinated and proven to adapt well to urban containers.”
Members of Vanamali, City Terrace Garden and Mana Vegetable Garden groups at the workshop held in Visakhapatnam to encourage terrace gardening in city.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Vanamaali is one of three active and collaborative groups currently shaping the future of domestic gardening in Visakhapatnam. City Terrace Garden and Mana Vegetable Garden are the other two that have their own followings, but often work together on outreach events and seed preservation drives.
Mana Vegetable Garden, in particular, is one of the oldest collectives of its kind in the city. It has consistently prioritised native seed conservation and direct assistance to urban gardeners. According to J V Ratnam, co-founder of the group, they distributed over 30,000 seeds and saplings in the past year alone. These included brinjal in 27 varieties, 19 varieties of lady’s finger, five types of amaranthus, and four kinds of ridge gourd. The seeds are selected for their adaptability, taste, and lineage. “We want people to reconnect with varieties their grandparents once grew,” Ratnam says.
Earlier this week, Vanamaali, Mana Vegetable Garden and City Terrace Garden jointly organised a citywide gathering at the Kalabharati auditorium in Pithapuram Colony. The event showcased some miniature models of terrace gardens, bonsai formations and also served as an annual meet that brought together more than 1,000 residents from across Visakhapatnam who had taken up gardening.
Long tables were lined with containers of seeds, gardening books and small tools, while the corridors buzzed with exchanges between attendees. Thousands of fruit plant saplings and seeds were distributed among visitors, each person receiving varieties suitable to their microclimate and rooftop orientation.
Dr K Vijaylaxmi at her stall of miniature gardens at the workshop by Vanamali, City Terrace Garden and Mana Vegetable Garden groups held in Visakhapatnam to encourage terrace gardening in city.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
Among the participants was Dr K Vijayalaxmi, a gynaecologist who has been involved with plant cultivation since childhood. “In Warangal, my childhood home stood on six acres. I began gardening when I was around 10,” she recalls. After relocating to Visakhapatnam and facing spatial limitations, she turned to miniature gardening and bonsai. She now grows an extensive collection of miniature plants, many of them arranged in handcrafted containers. Recently, she donated 78 miniature gardens to a temple trust in Mysuru.
The movement also champions the idea that you don’t need vast lands to grow your own food. N Jyothi, who co-founded Vanamaali alongside Aruna and Sarita, grows vegetables at her home at NAD Junction at a terrace garden that occupies only 50 square feet. Yet she has managed to grow a year-round supply of leafy vegetables. “For the past four years, I have not purchased any greens from outside,” she says. In small recycled containers, she grows red gongura and red amaranthus, varieties not commonly found in markets. “Unlike a common notion that we need large spaces to cultivate vegetables, it is more about consistency and observation,” she adds.
These groups have built a quiet and structured alternative to conventional food systems. There is little emphasis on novelty. Instead, the work centres on reclaiming lost practices, preserving non-commercial seeds and maintaining steady dialogue among gardeners.
To join the groups, contact 77949 30439, 81213 82753 or 9618325625.
Published – July 04, 2025 08:30 am IST
