Can a city dweller have Green dreams ?

Many people find gardening an incredibly relaxing hobby. A hobby that allows them to get in touch with the earth and themselves. Likewise, gardening is not an expensive hobby to start, although the hobby may become expensive as you progress in the art of planting. Needless to say, thousands of people enjoy gardening each year and if you are fond of the outdoors, you may find yourself interested in gardening too.
You won't need much to start gardening. Some basic tools like a shovel, a rake, and hoe may do you well in the garden. You will need either seeds or starter plants, whichever you prefer. But, how does one actually become an expert at it? Well, gardening comes naturally to us humans as we have nurtured and and used plants from time immemorial for our own use and benefits. Still, it helps list out the following before we actually venture into large scale gardening...

What is your budget? It could start from as little as Rs.10/- to thousands of Rupees depending upon the following...

1.Is it indoor / outdoor or terrace gardening that you are venturing into
(a) If it is indoor – what sort of time are you willing to devote each day. If you lead a busy life with much of you time spent away from home, the choice of indoor plants must be made wisely and the plants inside the house must also be located strategically to take in most of the natural lighting available from windows or the balcony.
(b) If it is window boxes that you desire – on the sill of your bedroom/ kitchen windows, you will once again have to choose your plants wisely and also have iron brackets installed to hold the plant box you desire to install.
(c) If it is terrace gardening you plan to do, (a) would it be on a large scale with soil and lawn all over the terrace or potted plants placed in rows on the terrace.
2.If you are lucky enough to have a patch of land where you can have a garden, then what is the amount of open space or soil space you have?
3.What sort of gardening venture are you getting into – something that will yield fruit or vegetables soon after planting, or something that will take time to grow and bear fruit – like fruit trees.
4.Having decided this, one must take into consideration the climate prevalent at the place and the soil type.

I am a city dweller, and even though I have an immense desire to garden, I am unable to do so because of the following factors like space constraints (I live in an apartment), rules laid out by the flat association, necessity for conservation of water, objections that may be raised by other residents, etc. For example, I cannot put up anything on the terrace, such as a small shade to protect my plants from direct sunlight, as it is against the association rules.
These things, trivial though they may be, ensure that my dream garden remains a dream and nothing more, at least for now. I, however, intend to have a garden no matter what happens, even if it means having to wait till my husband retires. But then, even after retirement, WHERE?
I think the solution lies in self-sufficient gated communities in rural areas, with cottage-type residences coupled with resort-like facilities one looks for in today's world. One such dream getaway is 'Melur Meadows', a safe, secure, tranquil, peaceful and pollution-free colony near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. I came across their website www.melurmeadows.com. Upon going through I was impressed by the various options that ones gets. The best part is that it is so affordable that one can go in for a cottage and let the company's property management scheme take care of the letting out, taxes, rentals etc and we could visit it as a holiday getaway whenever we have a holiday. It is just awesome. I am glad such alternative lifestyles are available at affordable costs.
If you're wondering what this community has to do with gardening, then here's the answer. Melur Meadows gives each of its residents their own garden patch, where they can grow absolutely anything they want! There will be garden festivals, gardening competitions and displays! Oh what fun. I cant wait to get there. The community starts full-fledged by December 2009.
I urge like-minded people to visit the website and find out for themselves. Think of what you could do, provided with your own garden patch... Isn't it a dream come true for sore city-accustomed eyes?
Think about it!!