My father tended to them and never really took any credit for it.It all began when Vinay Athalye decided to give back to nature.. As Sandeep gathered more experience, his garden too expanded. While I was researching how to plant a butterfly garden, one of these tribesmen told me to just stop reading up so much and start planting. He and his friends planted trees all along the roadsides of Arrey and then ensured that they survived the year.A family effort saw the butterfly garden planted by late October of 2015 and colourful butterflies started fluttering in by June of 2016. So I did,” he shrugs. They are especially plentiful now, since they prefer mild weather,” he says.
So when Athalye senior passed away in the year 2015, his son decided to pick up where he left off. “Experts have told us that we have enough nectar plants and colourful flowers, so now I want to plant some fruit trees here as well. However, if we can water them enough, then they will bloom and attract butterflies throughout the year. “We just had a photo walk around the garden and the photographers were able to spot over 50 varieties of butterflies and around 150 butterflies at the same time. “When my father was no longer around to head these operations, his friends and fellow volunteers looked to me to continue the process.Sandeep claims to have inherited his love for nature completely from his father.“We wanted to create something that would be a fitting tribute to him, and that could only be a garden. Then he went on to complete more ambitious projects like a Nakshatra Garden Drip Irrigation Hose (garden with flowers after each constellation) and a Panchavati Garden (five-plant garden). He loves to come here and help out with the plants,” he adds. “Learning the benefits of a butterfly garden and actually planting one are completely different.While the garden is thriving, Sandeep has several plans for it to be even more magnificent. We started by planting just around 70 plants that year, but then the butterfly garden project came up. “My father always told us that we should give back to nature.
“We often work with the people from the nearby tribes. You can read up and know that a garden like this will draw in other creatures like caterpillars and birds, but it is only hands-on experience that will help you figure out how to take care of the plants,” he explains. He also tended to his Nakshatra garden and Panchavati garden. Now my four-year-old son also comes by to help with the planting. However, while he was studying the dos and don’ts, a bit of advice from a valuable quarter helped him take the first step.The Blue Jamaican Spike, Pentas and Ixora along with the various other flowering plant varieties have now created a riot of colour that attracts butterflies of all sizes, shapes and colours. People often go on planting drives and then forget all about the trees that they had planted. So, we continued to plant trees.
Also, as of now, the flowers only bloom during certain seasons. But it’s the maintenance of these plants that really requires work. Hopefully, I will be able to get some help soon, to make the beauty and colour last all year round,” he signs off. Since he had no idea how to go about planting a butterfly garden, Sandeep delved into research. I am trying to get help from the local corporation so that we can get water supply here. Since the Athalye family lives near Goregaon station, Vinay decided to select a random plot of barren land in Arrey colony and planted over 100 trees in 2000. Even the benches in the two parks read ‘from one nature lover to another’,” recalls Sandeep. So we chose a plot of land and decided to plant a butterfly garden there,” recalls Sandeep Athayale, Vinay’s son, who is a salesman by profession
Ningbo Xinhan Garden Technology Co., Ltd.