Radiant bride

Suvendini Narayanasamy made a radiant bride when she wed Niroshan de Silva at the Colombo Hilton last month. The bride's outfits were designed by Michael Wijesuriya and she was dressed by Ramani Fernando. Her flowers, bridal bouquets and the wedding d‚cor were created by Mary Jayaratne. Pic by Mettasena

How does your garden grow? 

By Uthpala Gunethilake

This is why when I first saw 75-year-old Sumana Polwatta's garden, in her Dehiwala home thought, "she's lucky". Having grown with her children, the garden would have been there for her always, a quiet, beautiful haven. 

"I planned this garden after I married and came to live in this house. That was in the 1950s." And since then, after four children, all of them married and several grandchildren, the garden still enjoys her care. 

As people grow old in years, many grow old in heart too. But Mrs. Polwatta's garden has kept her young at heart; renewing her as it renews itself with fresh leaves and blossoms every day. 

It's a garden with a soul of its own; not totally old-fashioned yet not a primly landscaped showpiece either. "I don't throw a plant away just because it's old-fashioned. Almost all the plants I planted years ago, are still here," she says, pointing at an orchid which is the same age as old as her third child.

Sumana Polwatta

The garden seems truly to be her best friend. "I spend most of my time either working in it, or just looking at the plants. I even have breakfast outside sometimes," she says. 

All types of plants roses, coleas, orchids, daisies and many more flourish here. The garden has no precise layout, the plants and flowering bushes arranged solely according to Mrs. Polwatta's eye for colour and shape.

"Amma hasn't spent a cent on the garden," says Priyankari de Silva, Mrs. Polwatta's daughter. Mrs. Polwatta adds with pride that she has never bought a plant from flower shows and shops. All the plants that adorn her garden have been collected from friends, relatives and neighbours.

Priyankari who lives next door, now stays with her mother, since Mrs. Polwatta fell ill a few months ago. 

"Amma fell ill because of the garden," she says, adding, "She used to do everything in the garden-digging, moving pots, and watering -all on her own."

Mrs Polwatta, on her part, is somewhat disapproving of her children's gardening techniques. "They are not patient. They want the plants to grow and flower overnight." For her, much of the joy is in pampering the plant and waiting patiently for it to bloom.

The garden and the lady are famous in the neighbourhood. 

"If the garden looks untidy, if there are a few dry leaves lying about, everyone knows that Mrs. Polwatta is ill," says a neighbour, Manohari Samaranayake.

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