Inside perfumed gardens: with Deepak Badhwar

Cat’s Claw, also known as dolichandra, bears fruit loved by the sun bird (Source: Special Arrangement)

Last month, botanist and founder of Delhi-based Couturescape, Deepak Badhwar and The Hindu Weekend’s wellness columnist, Vasudha Rai, had an in-depth conversation about how to create a fragrant garden. Organised as part of the ongoing #LockdownwithWeekend series on Instagram live, the session also focussed on plants that can be grown in various cities and climates, garden maintenance tips and the best seasons for pruning and manure. Here are a few key takeaways from the session:

The Raat ki Rani, known for its fragrant blooms at night, is a favourite across India (Source: Special Arrangement)

The Raat ki Rani, known for its fragrant blooms at night, is a favourite across India (Source: Special Arrangement)

Grow the lantana in sunny areas (Source: Special Arrangement)

Another favourite is the Din ka Raja, known for its fragrant blooms during the day (Source: Special Arrangement)

The tuberose grows across the country and Badhwar recommends looking for the single-layered Calcutta variety (Source: Special Arrangement)

Ylang Ylang grows beautifully in humid regions such as Mumbai (Source: Special Arrangement)

The kumquat or Chinese orange has beautiful blooms and can be grown anywhere in India. Like other citrus plants, this requires the soil to be completely dry before watering as well. (Source: Special Arrangement)

If you want to grow the water lily and lotus at home you need sunlight. Use an urli or a terracotta pot, which is 8-10 inches deep. To prevent mosquitoes from breeding add fish such as guppy or black molly to the water. Make sure you don’t feed the fish as they will feed off the algae and mosquito larvae. (Source: Special Arrangement)

The passion flower blooms all over India (Source: Special Arrangement)

The frangipani grows pan-India but loses its leaves during winter (Source: Special Arrangement)

The orchid cactus (with white flowers that bloom for just one night) is ideal for Pune and Bengaluru (Source: Special Arrangement)

Potting basics: You will need one portion of soil, half a portion of manure or vermikhad and one portion of cocopeat. To layer your planter, first line it with broken terracotta pieces at the bottom (make sure the hole is open). Add some dry leaves and fill it up with the potting mix. (Source: Special Arrangement)

The Madhu Malti (Rangoon creeper) grows well across the country (Source: Special Arrangement)