Balaji Gardan Nursari

Out here in Shikrapur Kalupur, we’ve got the Balaji Gardan Nursari. It’s mostly just rows of plants and bags of soil everywhere you look. I spend my whole day with dirt under my fingernails. We started this place because we had the land and figured people always need something green for their homes. It’s a lot of watering and weeding. The sun is often beating down on us. We have all sorts of saplings. There are fruit trees and flowers that do well in this heat. The road out here gets a bit bumpy, especially after a heavy rain. We don't have a fancy office, just a small shed where we keep the tools and take our lunch breaks. My wife helps with the smaller pots and the customers who don’t know what they want. It’s peaceful. We see a lot of the same faces every season when it’s time to plant. Sometimes the goats from the neighbor’s place try to get in. They want to eat the leaves, so we have to keep an eye out. It’s a simple life. We don’t use any big machines. We just use our hands and some shovels. If you’re driving through Shikrapur, you’ll see our fence and the green netting we put up for shade. Stop by if you need some plants. We are usually here until sunset. Sometimes we run out of certain flowers, so it's best to come early in the week.