Maria's 22 years of creating a little heaven in the city

The term garden typically conjures mental images of a space with many multi-coloured flowers. But for Maria Asiema, flowery gardens are a turn-off.

Ms Asiema has transformed her garden into a masterpiece at her home in Karen, Nairobi.

“When I moved here 22 years ago, I had to determine the kind of garden I wanted to create. I prefer green foliage to the many multi-coloured plants. Too much colour gives me a migraine,” she says.

The first step in her greening project was to ensure an even terrain. The land gradually slopped from her driveway, and the surface was uneven. “I kept adding soil and manure wherever I saw a dent,” she points out.

From her main gate, Ms Asiema has a variety of plants with creepers covering the perimeter wall. Growing beneath the brick wall are hibiscus, spider plants, and clivia plants.

On the other side of the walkway are potted plants, giving a glimpse into her love for order in her garden.

At the gate is a purple bougainvillaea that she hopes will eventually grow and spread to cover the wall on that side.

She also has a potted bloodleaf plant she says is always looking for a way to die. However, with constant spraying with insecticides and care, it still lives.

Before the staircase that leads to her house, she has two large pots with bamboo that she regularly trims to stop them from overgrowing.

Down the stairs is the yellow bird of paradise, which is her favourite. It has a beak-like appearance, and Ms Asiema has the white and yellow variety. “It looks beautiful when you cut the bulb and put it in a vase. When in bloom, I cut them and put them in water in a vase in my house. I love their not-so-bright colour. I also love the leaves, which make it look like a tropical bird,” says Ms Asiema.

Garden art

On her front porch, she has installed her garden art. Not only is she an avid gardener, but the mother of three also doubles up as a collector, having done most of her collection from expats and markets.

What inspires her? “I like adding bits and pieces to enhance my garden and make it look more appealing.”

Her home is filled with garden-related art, including potting lamps, frogs, and owls. She firmly believes in recycling, so she never gets rid of broken pots. “There is always a way you can use something. For instance, I use broken pots as borders,” says Ms Asiema.

She prefers using big old pots. “They hold a lot of soil and manure but can easily crack if there is too much soil and water.”

The closest she gets to flowery plants are yellow durantas and anthuriums, which won her third prize in the Kenya Horticultural Society Show that ended in June.

“I got third prize in the Anthuriums section and second prize for my succulents. I like succulents for the different shades of green they have. And best of all, to care for the succulents, I just check if the soil is dry.” she says.

In her backyard, she has created a rock garden. At the centre is an old wheelbarrow, where she grows most succulents and orchids.

She had her moment of awakening last year when she fell and broke her leg. She terms it a blessing in disguise.

She says, “One of the things that happened is I discovered that I have orchids. I split them into different pots and am now trying to grow them. I also came up with the idea of growing succulents in a log. When I had the leg injury. I decided to create a garden that I would really love. So I joined Facebook groups. I particularly liked garden art groups. I can see beauty in anything, even broken pieces.”

Ms Asiema, 60, discovered her love for gardening in high school.

“I was in the agriculture class and was very excited when I grew my cabbages. Since then, I have always had an appreciation for nature and green things.”

To keep her garden’s foliage lush throughout the year, she dug a well.

Ms Asiema rarely buys her plants. Most of them were inherited from ex-pats and friends.

“When we moved, I came with some of the plants that I had. I would then collect from expats leaving the country and propagate my own plants.” 

Orderly garden

Now retired, the former lecturer enjoys dealing with an orderly garden. “For similar plants. I group them together. The succulents are together, the monsters are together, and the two cycads are on the side of the traveller’s palm.”

She did not have a working budget when she started creating her little heaven on earth as “I built it just bit by bit over 22 years. I wouldn’t say that it is difficult because now I have a mature garden.”

Biggest struggle

In the backyard is a broken pot that she still uses. She has tied it up. It is, she says, a symbol of how broken things still work. Even in real life, one can still move.

Her biggest struggle has been growing the strings of pearls because “they take a long time to grow.”

Her green section of the garden has lush foliage and a wide variety of ferns, rubber plants, and philodendrons grown on a croton tree. Also, at the back, she has a developing agapanthus fence.

Her most memorable purchase is the string of pearls which cost her Sh800.

My main challenge has been the grass. “I love beautiful lawns. If I had the money, I would uproot everything and plant one species of grass, the Pemba grass,” she says.

To keep her garden in good shape,  she goes on an inspection walk every morning to see if a plant needs transplanting or pruning.

No taking risks

Ms Asiema does not take risks with her garden. “I only prune when it is necessary. I am a gardener who has learned the skill on her own. So I just let it do what it wants to do then when new growth comes up, I prune. I don’t like to take risks with my garden. I like to play it safe,” says Maria.

She shied off from getting a landscaper because she knew what she wanted to create for her garden and achieved it.

“I think gardening is very therapeutic. Seeing something grow from nothing into something is beautiful,” she concludes.

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