BANGALORE: In the times of our constant references to the phrase ‘ concrete jungle ’,

citizens have managed to maintain green spaces in their homes – on their terraces.

Koramangala’sBangalore’s commercial hub, Kormanagala has recently witnessed a sea change in the way its residential spaces are being explored. Homemakers, working women and botany enthusiasts alike have joined hands into making private terraces and balconies greener. Not only are they making it palatable to the eye, but, they are also using the space to source their kitchen requirements.This trend is analogous to the development of the gardening and landscaping industry in India. Professional players, here in Koramangala, are joining in to provide their services to builders, companies and households.The future for gardening and landscaping industry looks bright this year. According to India Landscaping Report 2013, the industry remained small and fragmented in India until last year. The small market size ensured global gardening majors overlooking India, which in turn has favoured the indigenous entrepreneurs.Garden enthusiast Nanda Devi, a high school teacher, has employed half of her first floor-terrace space to keep her childhood hobby alive and spends an hour a day on it. “Terrace gardening is economical and eco friendly,” she explains.Usha Raghavan a resident of a Koramangala high rise apartment, who developed a keen interest in organic terrace gardening , now, has begun to occasionally provide for her family with healthier, organic vegetables too.Raghavan is following a Facebook page exclusively dedicated to people interested in organic terrace gardening. The page initiated by a Bangalore-based group of enthusiasts began about two years ago with 200 people and has now grown to over 3,000 members. Inspired members meet once in three months to discuss on subjects like farm yield, organic manure and better seeds. The next meeting called “Oota from your Thota” (meaning food from your garden), is scheduled to start on 24 February 2013.The page following testifies the potential growth the market has and Radha Eashwar is tapping into this. Founder of ArtyPlantz, a garden solution provider, she has helped Koramangala’s citizens to create home gardens and urban farms. An architect by profession, Radha believes that Koramangala’s corporate as well as public spaces are in need of this. ArtyPlantz was started as a tiny horticultural therapy centre in February 2012.“Better homes are an easy possibility and a terrace, balcony and even a windowsill can be converted into a green space without employing much resources,” she says.Many citizens from around Koramangala have approached Radha with needs that require customis ation. “While a builder or a campus developer may ask for a private terrace designed especially for a pool area, an individual customer may just be looking for a more compact and low maintenance green space,” Eashwar informed.Some of the players are looking at the construction happening around Koramangala as a possible future demand. Veena Nanda, who owns Sunshine Boutique, a garden store, believes that the builders as well as homeowners’ special attention for including green space during construction has proved fruitful.“Koramangala is one of those newer localities where more citizens’ are going out of their way to add more eco-friendly value to their homes,” she says. Eashwar’s ArtyPlantz aims to reach out to 25,000 customers by 2016. Since 2012, ArtyPlantz’s customer base has grown five times since then. Today, the setup has received landscape gardening enquiries from medium to large sized builders across Koramangala. “Big names like Sri Ram Properties, developers like Shilpa Builders, Connect Builders, Kaman Holdings and K2 Builders have expressed their interests. If all goes well, we shall set up office in another city in two years from now,” hopes Radha.This year, the market is slated to grow at Compound Annual Growth Rate of 22 per cent to reach a value of Rs 751.04 crore. The gardening market will be driven by housing demand and demand from residential areas like Koramangala. Nanda agrees, “Our business has rebounded after the 2008 dive, thanks to the stronger economic growth conditions. This was supported by spending by customers especially from smaller households and other residential apartment builders. We hope that our business will get a push from the construction activity in the areas surrounding Koramangala,” she says.