CHENNAI: The tulips of Amsterdam, cherry blossoms of Japan, roses of Ooty — when these flowers are in full bloom in their respective seasons, visitors from across the world throng to view them. On the same lines, painting the city yellow is Shefalii Dadabhoy, who wants to make Chennai the sunflower capital. As a first step towards this dream, she has planted sunflowers in her home garden in Rutland Gate, Nungambakkam.
“My father was in the service and we kept travelling very often. But, one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for plants and my admiration for flowers,” she says, walking us through her enclosure of plants. A Chennai resident for the past 17 years, Shefalii has been a passionate urban organic gardener who grows seasonal fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other plants.
“I love flowers and I’ve been growing them for over a decade. I love experimenting with them and knowing my passion, friends and family reach out with various seeds from all around (the world). That’s how I wanted to experience the joy of seeing such a huge flower bloom in my garden,” she adds.
Previous year’s rains loosened up the soil in her garden. Her husband, Ruqshad, came up with the idea of planting sunflowers, as they have deep tap roots that are good for the soil and take away toxicity. They also remove heavy metals and radiation from contaminated soil, a practice famously employed after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
“No other place can be perfect for a path of sunflow.