“Why don’t you throw these old/waste items to the kabadiwallah?”
This was a statement frequently told to Surbhi Yadav, but it often fell on deaf ears. How does one discard years of memories, carefully preserved by a loved one who passed away too soon? Instead, by and bringing them back to life, you not only help the environment but also honour the memory of your loved one.
In Surbhi’s case, it was her mother-in-law who passed away during the second wave of COVID-19. She left behind a pall of grief in the life of the Meerut resident, along with a roomful of cherished belongings. Having joined the family just two years before this tragedy, Surbhi and her mother-in-law shared a strong rapport. Their bond was so profound that coping with the loss was particularly difficult for the 30-year-old.
After moving from disbelief to despair, which later turned into depression, she began channelling her inner creativity as a coping mechanism. The devoted daughter-in-law found great solace in transforming her mother-in-law’s ancestral bottles, matkas (jars), lanterns, and even a fan into beautiful planters.
Old bottles upcycled by Surbhi
The logical next step was to add plants to the planters, which kicked off Surbhi’s journey into gardening in April 2023. Today, her thriving terrace garden boasts over 300 plants, with most of the planters made from repurposed materials. To share her tips with the world, Surbhi started a YouTube and Instagram channel called @chalocreativitykaren.
Want to breathe life into your house too by making the most out of waste? Read on.
Surbhi wasn’t a big gardening enthusiast growing up. It was her husband who introduced her to this world with his small garden. After their marriage, she would watch him tend to the plants. Her interest in gardening began only after the tragedy, which pushed her into depression.
“Lack of oxygen was one of the major reasons for my mother-in-law’s death. I wanted to ensure that oxygen levels don’t reduce in our house henceforth. That’s how I started growing plants,” Surbhi tells The Better India.
Going through her mother-in-law’s room, she found a ton of items. While everyone wanted to throw it, the young woman would hear none of it. She unleashed her inner Picasso and started making beautiful decorative items and planters using items like paint cans, bottles, lanterns and more.
After she had a few planters ready and , she needed to add plants to them, didn’t she? Clear about doing this on a budget and sustainably, she started her garden using plant cuttings.
“I started with a money plant, which is one of the most low-maintenance plants, followed by syngonium and other ornamental plants. As I gained more experience, I moved on to flowers and vegetables,” shares the gardener.
Surbhi’s garden has over 300 plants
Over the past year, the terrace has been enveloped in green with over 300 plants — including bougainvillaea, hibiscus, and various species of palms like areca, sago, and doum. These are complemented by succulents that add variety and texture to the garden’s panorama. Through much effort, the garden also boasts vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals, spinach, methi (fenugreek), green beans, and green chillies.
This gardener’s approach to creating her lush garden has been rooted in sustainable practices. Besides being propagated from cuttings, making it economically efficient, the 30-year-old proudly shares that nearly 99 percent of her plants are grown in DIY planters or existing ones already at home.
The fertility of the soil is maintained through organic methods, such as , cow dung manure, and bioenzymes. Only vermicompost is purchased externally. Over the past year, Surbhi has been turning her kitchen waste into compost and making bioenzymes at home.
The creative reuse of materials plays a significant role in the aesthetic of this garden. Old lanterns, unused cooking pots, plates and even a hanging fan grill have been repurposed as planters. If they could speak, they would share umpteen stories of the Yadav family.
Surbhi now starts her day early in the morning, spending an hour tending to the garden. After finishing her household chores, she works on creating more planters and spends another hour with the plants in the evening. Her husband, an advocate, supports her in this endeavour, and the two share many happy moments through their shared hobby.
The pièce de résistance of the garden is a hanging planter of turtle vine made of 15 plastic bottles and an old fan, which belonged to her mother-in-law. She either turns waste into planters, or decorative figurines — like glass bottles turned into a Rajasthani couple or a tyre that adds much beauty to the wall!
Surbhi has embraced this endeavour as a therapeutic practice, helping her battle overthinking and depression. Her garden is also a sight for sore eyes! “ . I slipped into depression and would spend hours overthinking. My plants pulled me out of it and have made me a happier person,” she shares.
Edited by Pranita Bhat; Images Courtesy Surbhi Yadav
This was a statement frequently told to Surbhi Yadav, but it often fell on deaf ears. How does one discard years of memories, carefully preserved by a loved one who passed away too soon? Instead, by and bringing them back to life, you not only help the environment but also honour the memory of your loved one.
In Surbhi’s case, it was her mother-in-law who passed away during the second wave of COVID-19. She left behind a pall of grief in the life of the Meerut resident, along with a roomful of cherished belongings. Having joined the family just two years before this tragedy, Surbhi and her mother-in-law shared a strong rapport. Their bond was so profound that coping with the loss was particularly difficult for the 30-year-old.
After moving from disbelief to despair, which later turned into depression, she began channelling her inner creativity as a coping mechanism. The devoted daughter-in-law found great solace in transforming her mother-in-law’s ancestral bottles, matkas (jars), lanterns, and even a fan into beautiful planters.
Old bottles upcycled by Surbhi
The logical next step was to add plants to the planters, which kicked off Surbhi’s journey into gardening in April 2023. Today, her thriving terrace garden boasts over 300 plants, with most of the planters made from repurposed materials. To share her tips with the world, Surbhi started a YouTube and Instagram channel called @chalocreativitykaren.
Want to breathe life into your house too by making the most out of waste? Read on.
A creative outlet for grief
Surbhi wasn’t a big gardening enthusiast growing up. It was her husband who introduced her to this world with his small garden. After their marriage, she would watch him tend to the plants. Her interest in gardening began only after the tragedy, which pushed her into depression.
“Lack of oxygen was one of the major reasons for my mother-in-law’s death. I wanted to ensure that oxygen levels don’t reduce in our house henceforth. That’s how I started growing plants,” Surbhi tells The Better India.
Going through her mother-in-law’s room, she found a ton of items. While everyone wanted to throw it, the young woman would hear none of it. She unleashed her inner Picasso and started making beautiful decorative items and planters using items like paint cans, bottles, lanterns and more.
After she had a few planters ready and , she needed to add plants to them, didn’t she? Clear about doing this on a budget and sustainably, she started her garden using plant cuttings.
“I started with a money plant, which is one of the most low-maintenance plants, followed by syngonium and other ornamental plants. As I gained more experience, I moved on to flowers and vegetables,” shares the gardener.
Surbhi’s garden has over 300 plants
Over the past year, the terrace has been enveloped in green with over 300 plants — including bougainvillaea, hibiscus, and various species of palms like areca, sago, and doum. These are complemented by succulents that add variety and texture to the garden’s panorama. Through much effort, the garden also boasts vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals, spinach, methi (fenugreek), green beans, and green chillies.
This gardener’s approach to creating her lush garden has been rooted in sustainable practices. Besides being propagated from cuttings, making it economically efficient, the 30-year-old proudly shares that nearly 99 percent of her plants are grown in DIY planters or existing ones already at home.
The fertility of the soil is maintained through organic methods, such as , cow dung manure, and bioenzymes. Only vermicompost is purchased externally. Over the past year, Surbhi has been turning her kitchen waste into compost and making bioenzymes at home.
Reuse, beautify and plant!
The creative reuse of materials plays a significant role in the aesthetic of this garden. Old lanterns, unused cooking pots, plates and even a hanging fan grill have been repurposed as planters. If they could speak, they would share umpteen stories of the Yadav family.
Surbhi now starts her day early in the morning, spending an hour tending to the garden. After finishing her household chores, she works on creating more planters and spends another hour with the plants in the evening. Her husband, an advocate, supports her in this endeavour, and the two share many happy moments through their shared hobby.
The pièce de résistance of the garden is a hanging planter of turtle vine made of 15 plastic bottles and an old fan, which belonged to her mother-in-law. She either turns waste into planters, or decorative figurines — like glass bottles turned into a Rajasthani couple or a tyre that adds much beauty to the wall!
Surbhi has embraced this endeavour as a therapeutic practice, helping her battle overthinking and depression. Her garden is also a sight for sore eyes! “ . I slipped into depression and would spend hours overthinking. My plants pulled me out of it and have made me a happier person,” she shares.
Edited by Pranita Bhat; Images Courtesy Surbhi Yadav