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Photo credit : S.Kesavan

Green canopy: Plants can provide comfort and cheer.

While Manorangidam sends out deep roots and requires to be rooted in proper soil on the ground, jasmine and jackmanja can be grown from 20 litre capacity pots placed on the terrace. The soil mixture in the planter pot should contain two parts red earth, one part sand and one part manure.

Of course, don’t forget to water the plants everyday. Two litres of water (roughly two mugs of water) is all that each of these plants needs everyday.

The next thing to do is to direct the creepers to spread overhead. So, what you need to do is to make it grow along a single thread rope towards the grill or bamboo panthal you have set up. While leading them up, trim the side branches so that they don’t become bushy. You can get these creepers to spread along your house’s side wall too, like a virtual green curtain and protect your house from the sun’s heat. Grow these creepers on the eastern and western walls, as these walls get the worst of the sun’s heat.

These creepers would be a ’green cap/curtain’ shielding your house from getting heated up by the sun, keep your indoor spaces cool, and save you considerable amount of AC expenses. And since you can alternate open-to-the-sky areas with these green caps in the terrace, you will not end up feeling roofed in or caved over either.

Are you seeing the green signal?

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