It’s Really About The Flowers
by Navin-Sharma das
Age of Garden: 3 years with vegetables
Size of Garden: 16 feet by 36 feet
Food-bearing Crops: Asparagus, Basil, Beets, Banana peppers, Bok choi, Broccoli, Cantaloupe, Chili peppers, Coriander, Cucumbers, Green beans, Lettuce, Strawberries, Swiss chard, Tomatoes (Cherry, Roma), Yellow squash (Crookneck, Straightneck), Watermelon, Zucchini.
Gopalasapriya is well-known for beautifying Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold and decorating Radha Vrindavana Chandra’s elegant necks with colorful and expertly arranged flowers. Her talent is certainly not spared on her home. A festival of hues and fragrances greet you as you approach the front door. But don’t forget to look in the back, where you’ll see some plants that may not be as pretty, but are certainly more tasty.
Her narrow fenced-in design easily keeps the deer at bay, and its simplicity has inspired others to follow her lead. It just makes the whole idea of gardening so practical and manageable. The raised beds are an added bonus. She doesn’t have to bend down as far, and the weeds from the surrounding soil are not able to grow into the planted area. All this means less work, and who’s not in favor of that?
Like many others, Gopalasapriya sticks with cow manure to fertilize, and avoids so-called organic fertilizers with their animal byproducts. For her, knowing your food is what makes gardening attractive. “Who wants food shipped form South America, or even farther away? Who knows what they’ve done to it, like irradiate it or whatever. It makes so much sense to grow your own! It’s lots of work, but totally worth it.” She’s a salad aficionado, so pure and flavorful vegetables are a must. With so many lovely ingredients growing twenty feet from the back door, who wouldn’t be into salads? Now if only that Romaine would finally take root!
