The bond dates back to his childhood days, when he enjoyed tending to the apple orchids and played along cherry, kiwi, almond, pear, plum, apricot, peach, walnut and percimal plants.

“There wasn’t a day I wouldn’t water the plants and enjoyed their beauty. But then it all changed once I shifted from Himachal Pradesh to Chandigarh. Instead of the lush greens, a blend of concrete stared in the face,” Rajneesh Chauhan, an advocate at Punjab and Haryana High Court, goes back in time and tells us that’s when he decided to have his own little collection — one which now brags of over 100 varieties.

“I planted my first flower, Gerbera, and after that with the assistance of my father, who is an Agricultural Development Officer at the University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, and my brother, who is a scientist in Horticulture Department, I built up on the collection,” he beams, showcasing the potted beauties that form a gallery on the top floor of his residence in Sector 10.

“Although people on the top floor here are usually complaining of the heat and dryness, I have created a wonderful surrounding for my family to cherish. I have a variety of plants ,that include seasonal as well as evergreen ones —- Primula acaulis, Zebrenthus, Ranunculeus, Ornethigelum, Nolina, Jatvata, Ikzoora, Croton, Beugonia, Alalya, Shalvina, Cylum, Elia, Cyplera, Amryliss and Gazania,” Chauhan lists a few for us and tells us that it’s here that he relaxes after a long days work.

... contd.