Terrace Kitchen Garden @ Velachery

A kitchen garden seems to have become a buzzword of sorts.Everyone wants to try a hand at it. Not all that difficult, but not as simple as well.

In our most recent project at Velachery, our clients had already taken numerous measures to make their roof waterproof. Further more they have used special tiles which reflect the sunlight and as a result make their rooms much cooler. These may,however, not be ideal solutions for the ones who cannot afford to splurge as much.

So SPACES explored the rule of three’s here. Three important point to keep in mind while setting up any terrace garden be it kitchen or ornamental!

Step 1: Ensure there isn’t too much weight that is concentrated across your terrace, identify load bearing points of your building. Typically this will restrict you to the edges of the terrace,and maybe a small portion in the middle.

Step 2: Make sure, there is never a chance for the water to seep through the roof. Always have a base, like maybe stands(which may add weight to your terrace) or in this case, drainage cells! These light weight contraptions allow water to either evaporate or run off, never stagnate.

Step 3: A shade net is a must for your ground variety of veggies, especially for the Chennai heat. And a sound support structure for your climber veggies.

A look at the pot garden set up on the other end of their terrace.

We literally can’t wait for this wall to become all glorified by the greenery we have planted by it!

If you too feel that your home requires more greenery, approach SPACES for a quote today!!

Front Yard Garden Restoration @ Mylapore!

There is always a charm that comes along with a traditional typical south-Indian houses and SPACES were very thrilled to revamp their landscape.

The redesign of Mr.Kavithalaya Krishnan’s home, done by SPACES now beckons to be explored and admired! Mr.Krishnan’s home, even though very shady and tree-rich, had a few things missing and we decided to spruce it up and add a little of our ingenuity to it as well.

Adding a grassy patch to the ground creates a magical effect. Very welcoming and attracts the eye,,..compared to the earlier barren land. Created a green patch right in the middle of the trees along the walk-way.We managed to make a make-shift garden sit out with the logs that were discarded at his household.SPACES not only refurbished their front yard, but also created a kitchen garden at the backyard.They are now proud owners of a truly green residence at the heart of the city in Mylapore!

Garden Workshop by SPACES!!

All garden enthusiasts, hop on board for a lovely half day workshop on basics of gardening by a renowned horticulturist on 26th July, 2014 at SPACES’s premises at Mylapore, Chennai.

Do follow the link below to register for the workshop.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pTPYewvHoCHlMx9au86RCpExe_551ai__PWvRGtkyKM/viewform?usp=send_form

Do ping SPACES website, fb page or on wordpress if interested. 🙂

 

SPACES goes viral!!

Check out our latest Advertisement!!

Terrace Landscaping Valluvar Kottam

One of our newest projects in setting up Terrace Gardens for a residential house at Valluvar Kottam. We had as much fun setting it up as it was to design. The end result was worth waiting for.

A very zen-effect on one of the sides of the terrace with the buddha statues. A very rugged mound on the corner with buddha on the peak . Pretty flowers on the sides.  Work in progress…. To the sides more assortment of pots and plants. A more comprehensive view of the lush landscape.More and more residents seem to want a peaceful, relaxing setting on their terrace, whether lawns or just a few pots or even a veggie garden. Don’t you want to take that step and make your terrace too into something beautiful ? If so, Contact SPACES. We are more than happy to set it up for you.

Landscaping at Egmore

Check out the pictures from the latest project undertaken by SPACES at Egmore for an Indian Overseas Bank Complex. We have always wanted to undertake spreading greenery to buildings in our city and this looks like our first step toward it. Our favorite feature is definitely the bamboo wall mount for the creeper support which also adds a little rustic look to the outside decor.

 

This time ,we thought it would add a nice touch , so we equipped all the plants with their own name boards so this could educate people about different plants and their uses, which we see everyday.

Tell us what your favorite feature was –  the vertical wall , the bamboo structure, the beautiful Rock garden in a quiet rugged corner or the beautiful Adeniums that adorn the side wall.  This list could clearly go on as i have missed a couple more unique features which you can find in the pictures. SPACES , shall be back with more pictures, until the next project.

MAD with SPACES!! – Dream Camp!!

Dream Camp organized by M.A.D

A dream indeed, not only for the thirty five to forty kids present there, but even to us at SPACES who got the opportunity to interact with them. They were the most charming and intuitive little bunch of  people that we had ever come across. None too as innocent as they seemed.

SPACES as part of the MAD event organized a small workshop for the kids aptly named “Little Farmers”. All of them were super excited and running about with increased energy, increased adrenaline, climbing every tree top they could sight with the pretext of getting more green leaves or plants or saplings.In fact, I met a mentor who seemed to be in-charge of just that – getting the kids back to the original place. 🙂

The whole day was enlightening and in retrospect we were very much in awe at the level of interpretations of some of the kids and their ideas and thoughts. There were a few instances where we were completely mind blown at their creativity and ability.

Mad camp by spaces -at ECR

MAd camp – ECR – conducted by spaces

As soon as we were ushered into the lovely In-Deco resorts at Mahabalipuram which had a very lush green outdoor, we quickly gave a brief talk on the current scenario, what the children could do to preserve the environment and some basics of gardening, waste disposal and recycling. What followed next was the outdoor session where the kids learned how to compost, what were the steps involved and more importantly they all learned how to plant a sapling along with a small exercise in recycling.

Hands down, the recycling part of the workshop was the most favorite, even the mentors got right down to the nitty-gritty. Where paints and brushes were involved, the children went to a happy place and got real serious. We got to see some beautiful pieces of art, very tastefully and creatively done.

There were a lot of chaotic moments, sweet ones, thick friendship, loyalty, naughtiness, every possible trait we could think of, we got to witness in that short period.  SPACES had an awesome time and hopes to meet the kids again real soon. Usually, these sessions with children often works out the other way around.We are the ones who take back a lot more than we expect to give!

SPACES featured in “Kungumam Thozhi” March Edition,2014!!

SPACES was featured in popular tamil magazine “Kungumam Thozhi” . Very proud and thankful to Vaidehi madam who was patient enough to interview and get to know us and giving us the chance to tell our story.

Rendezvous with Rotary Club

SPACES had the wonderful opportunity to talk at the meeting conducted by the Rotary Club of Madras East. All thanks to Mr.Bharadwaj and Mr.Gopalakrishnan for introducing us to the world of the elite. Shainika had given a fine talk about the urban life crisis and ways to re-track the severed connection with nature.

She equipped her talk with a lot of informative methods and ideas about accommodating gardens within small space. There were lots of questions thereafter regarding different herbs and other common myths about having gardens at your own home.

SPACES was thrilled to make a presentation at this meeting and looks forward to more ties with the Rotary club.

 

Revisit to Red Hills

Sixteen days had gone by since the group of twelve volunteers had battled it out in the terrace to equip a vegetable garden for the kids at the Shelter at Red Hills. Tentatively, we arrived at the gates , the children were busy attending Sunday Mass, and we went straight into the terrace , eager to see the results of our handicraft. There were so many doubts .. did the structures still stay strong, had the saplings grown for all the veggies, had the pandal structure stood the test of the winds.

The sight which was awaiting us was one which would rise our spirits by the double.

The children had taken care of the seeds like they were their own, everything looked healthy and was growing fine. All the structures were intact and pretty strong. happy and content, we set about with transplanting some of the tomatoes , brinjals and the chillies into separate containers thereby avoiding crowding and stunted growth.

We also removed the plastic covering underneath the bigger pots,afraid of stagnation of water.We gave them instructions to keep changing the position of the containers slightly every 2 weeks.

 

By the time we were done transplanting, the kids were done with their prayers too and were eager to come up, curious to see what the annas and the akkas were up to. We taught them how to transplant , how to water without doing excess , and how to keep cuttings of plants and propagate them like indian borage, perandai  etc

One little fellow followed my suit and started watering the plants and the rest followed.

Soon the two hours just flew by and it was time to leave and we had time for one last photo session.

 

 

Until next time. 🙂