Sayana Anil’s little garden at her home is sprawling with water lilies and lotus blooms. The endless pink stretch seems otherworldly and is the result of her never-ending quest. Initially, she set up her garden on her terrace. Any species that piqued her interest get added to the aquatic garden. Over time, the space couldn’t hold any more plants. Then unexpectedly, what started as a hobby turned into a full-fledged venture selling lotus and water lilies.
When the terrace became not enough for her dreams, Sayana got another 35 cents of land near her residence for her water garden. She now has over 200 varieties of aquatic plants on the land. Ranging from tropical lotuses that bloom throughout the year, to semi-tropical and hardy lotus, the Thiruvananthapuram-native has amassed a varied collection, including the ultimate thousand petals Zhizun Qianban — a flower that is known as goddess Durga’s favourite in Indian mythology.
“I didn’t plant the garden intending to start a business. The idea of seeing many different colourful petals kept me going. As my little garden began to grow, people started noticing them and calling with requests. Ultimately, during the lockdown I kickstarted the venture,” says Sayana. Her interest in lotus and water lilies stemmed from a very young age. The first one in her huge collection was the water lily in the pond adjacent to her father’s farmland. Then, she started collecting lotuses during her many travels to Tamil Nadu.
“It took almost a year for the first lotus plant to bloom. However, I wasn’t satisfied with just the native species. They have only a few petals. Soon, I started sourcing hybrid variants from Thailand. Then I heard about lotus variants created by the renowned gardener Ganesh Kumar Ananthakrishnan using cross-pollination,” she says. “Hybrid varieties are rich and colourful. Many of them bloom within a month and the varieties such as Amiry Camilea can flower in 15 days.”
‘Miracle’, which has 700 deep pink petals with faded white strokes, and white ‘Akhila’ with a tint of pink shade on the sides are some creations of Ganesh. Both are available at Sayana’s garden. The list doesn’t end here. On the sprawling land, Sayana boasts a set of unique varieties of aquatic plants. The ‘peak of pink’ with deep colour petals, green apple where the petals have a light green shade in the middle, the grand ‘Sattabongat’ that can adapt to any climate, Juwaba which changes colour each day and the Red Shangai in deep hues are some rare varieties.
When it comes to water lilies, her collection is even more mesmerising. Tropic punch with sharp and dark petals, Moradoba in deep purple and the minimal Micrantha white, all of these are in full blossom in her grand pond. Of the lot, she says, ‘Victoria Cruriana’ has the strongest leaf. As time passed, the tried and tested method of cross-pollination — using local and exotic blooms — attracted her. And she created her hybrid variety — the dark red coloured ‘Adithi’. It was the result of cross-pollinating Miracle and Bucha lotuses, she says.
The technique
Both lotuses and water lilies are grown from tubers. While potting, the base has to be filled with manure. Plant 20% of the soil tuber and pour water till the rim. Apart from giving maximum sunlight the plants also demand proper maintenance. “If the plants are growing slowly, provide fertilisers such as NPK (Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) every 15 days by covering it in paper and then inserting within,” says Sayana. Put guppy fishes in the water to prevent mosquito breeding, she advises.
Contact: +91 80868 69585