May 22, 2011
 
Hard work, dedication and perseverance – end result, an amazing masterpiece of a blooming garden in the desert, which has to be seen to be believed. That is Ned D’Cunha from Abu Dhabi for you.

Ned D'Cunha hails from Bejai, Mangalore. He is basically a BSc in biology from St Aloysius College, Mangalore. That is where his love for nature was fuelled.

He later pursued commerce and is a certified Chartered Accountant. Ned affirms that nothing is impossible in life if you have a will and passion.

He currently works as finance manager at Pepsi, Abu Dhabi. Ned is married to Inez and has three children, Deann, Mike and Gina.

Gardening has always been a passion with Ned. He says that nature has great solace to offer. Nothing could deter him from converting a small patch of the desert into a bountiful green garden, not even the rising mercury of the region.

There is something thrilling about being able to grow one's own herbs and vegetables for cooking. Gardening is an incredibly relaxing hobby and a good stress buster. Ned D’Cunha has been maintaining a Mangalorean-like, modest patch for the past 20 years in Abu Dhabi and quite enjoys the challenge of keeping the garden going in spite of the harsh summers and sandy soil conditions, some of it even year round. The patch is a barely 10 feet by 35 feet.

It's all grown with organic manure from kitchen waste converted into rich organic compost and dry farm manure trucked down from a far off farm in Al Ain. A wide range of vegetables, fruits and herbs have successfully grown on this patch over the years and Ned has often had enough to give away.

Vegetable yield so far includes ash gourds, yellow and white pumpkins, ladies fingers, yellow marrow, snake gourds, radish, groundnuts, cabbage, cooking bananas, chilies, gherkins, a variety of tomatoes and brinjals, not sparing the Udupi gulla too, a variety of beans, from flat beans to strings beans, greens like colocasia leaves, spinach and lettuce.

A special mention needs to be made of the gherkin creeper which is about 10 years old. Every summer it dries up so dreadfully and is taken for dead but it faithfully springs up again in winter bearing a few kilos of gherkins.
Fruits that have grown over the years are lemons, sugarcane, papayas, pineapple and watermelon. Currently apple saplings have sprouted from seeds from apples bought at the supermarket and also a variety of orange saplings including Egyptian Kumkat.

Herbs grown are coriander, mint, brahmi, basil, curry leaves, mustard, lemon grass and aloe. The much talked about Insulin plant is growing lush and seems to be enjoying the weather right now. In all, there are 43 varieties of plants (Fruits, Vegetables and herbs) currently growing on this patch.

Planting and sowing is done end October, early November. Most of the less hardy varieties invariably perish during the summer months. The winter months from November to March are promising and this is the time the plants are at their best.

This patch has been home to local birds and bees as well and this adds on to the pleasures of gardening.

The sounds of nature in the garden can create subtle moods. The graceful leaves of ornamental plants rustling in the breeze, bees buzzing, and the sound of bird activities provide a sense of serenity and excitement, that's the atmosphere Ned enjoys.

Though Ned is holding a responsible position with a hectic schedule, he finds time to pursue his passion. With great  love for nature, whatever the man with green fingers attempts to grow in his garden turns out to be  simply incredible.

Ned' family too lends a helping hand towards his astounding hobby. He says nothing is impossible on this earth if one has the willingness and determination to pursue ones interest, though Abu Dhabi is his second home.

Visitors to his breathtaking garden are stunned to see the feat he has created in the limited space around his home, that too in the desert environment.