Bollywood stars invest in vertical gardens to keep paparazzi away

Grden

Urban ecology is getting a shot in the arm with Bollywood stars giving as much significance to their gardens as they do to their homes. Keeping themselves away from prying eyes is top priority for most, playtime being the boys' prerogative. Says interior architect Ashiesh Shah, "In addition to being one of the best ways to add a dash of greenery to an urban space, landscaping is a great way to screen off spaces without walls." For Hrithik Roshan's new home, Shah kept the outdoor space minimal, with a lawn area and floor-hugging seating for his kids to play.

Kangana Ranaut

Singleton Ranbir Kapoor's garden has a free-flowing layout. Says Shah, "The living room leads to an outdoor bar area which continues into a large open lawn, perfect for entertaining. Ranbir definitely wanted the open space to play football with his friends. We used perennial plants like boganvillas, frangipanis and traveller's palms to create a more private feel."

Privacy was a major concern for Kangana Ranaut as well. Says ecological landscape specialist Gautam Muralidharan who designed her urban forest garden, "The issue of private space had to be addressed due to a wrap-around deck for the apartment." His firm Oikos Ecological Solutions created dense plantings and green screens to conjure up a landscape full of colour and utility. Kangana's landscape is really sweet and beautiful, much like her.

Kangana Ranaut's garden has a green wall to keep prying eyes at bay

The brief was to create a strongly aesthetic garden with a kitchen garden component as well as plants that would bring her a sense of home. Since she is from the north, mulberries were one of the fruiting trees that fulfilled those requirements along with chilli, brinjal, and lime. Additionally, privacy was a concern and it was necessary to create plant screens, which were done with scented and flowering varieties of plants."

Rani Mukerji's house is a veritable green bungalow with step gardening and vertical plantations

Kangana gave Muralidharan the artistic licence to create the landscape the way he wanted, within the parameters provided. "This allowed me to add several native plants, and a garden that would provide space for birds and butterflies. I was amazed when I saw a bulbul nesting in her landscape a year after we completed the project." Muralidharan's other clients include Vikas Bahl, Rani Mukerji, Imtiaz Ali and Rajeev Khandelwal.

Queen director Vikas Bahl has a canopy and seasonal plants in his large garden

At the moment, he is working on Alia Bhatt's home garden. Muralidharan gave us a textual preview of Alia's baugh. "I use a microclimate approach to try and find plants that suit the space and location. The flora I use is always a mix of native and ornamental, leaning more toward the wilder side of things, as my background is wildlife and ecology."

Others like Parineeti Chopra are going a step further in their ecological pursuits. Her newly furnished home has a bio-wall - a living wall that divides spaces and cleans the air we breathe at the same time.