‘Sugandha Vanam’ –  Sri Sai Narayana Gardens

When you come to Sri Sai Narayana Organization facility, you will be amazed by the various flower plants and trees, and you will notice the fragrance coming from these wonderful plants. Our garden is aptly named ‘Sugandha Vanam’ (Sanskrit for Fragrant garden) is home for thousands of plants that give immense pleasure and serene ambiance to everyone’s enjoyment.

Great gardens don’t spring up overnight.  Our garden started with a simple vision –   “To create and maintain a tranquil garden that appeals to all our five senses and enchants the mind with its beauty and peacefulness”. We consider our Sugandha Vanam as a Community Development project, as it helps bring the community together to work as a team, and also helps in individual development.  We believe that the garden ground sparks a passion for plants and envision a community that respects the natural world and looks to nature for inspiration. It will also help us protect our environment!!!

Members from Community volunteers formed our ‘Garden Team’, who are passionate gardening enthusiasts, developed the design for our temple garden. Over the past 4 years, this core team, with the help of several other volunteers and well-wishers, has transformed our premises from a plain land to a beautiful Sugandha Vanam. While this is a continuous ongoing effort with several projects in pipeline, here are some of the features of our Sugandha Vanam:

• Rose Garden with hundreds of varieties fragrant Rose bushes
• Fruit orchard – over 60 fruit trees consisting of Peach, Pear, Apple, Plum, Cherries and Fig.
• Exotic tropical flowering plants including Hibiscus, Jasmine, Arali (Nerium), Vaadamalli (Globe Amaranth), Champaka (Tuberose) and Sunflower.
• Sacred and Ayurvedic garden having Tulasi, Maruvam, Basil, Mint, Turmeric, Ginger, Curry Leaf, Cilantro, Rosemary, Agathi, Moringa,  Lemon, Lime, auspicious Banana trees,   Peepal (Bodhi/Raagi Maanu/Arasamaram/Sacred fig tree/Ficus religiosa) and Neem tree
• Ornamental bushes and flowers – Hostas, Elephant ears, Cypress trees,  Ornamental Grasses,  Dahlias, Daffodils, Tulips, Iris, Gladiolas, Daisies, Coreopsis, Daylilies, Fox gloves, Azalea, Red yarrow, Zinnia, Cosmos, Peonies etc.,
• Rows of shade trees

In addition, we also have a beautiful, natural pond with a water fountain surrounded by trees. This pond is a home for hundreds of colorful Koi Fish. People can enjoy the serene atmosphere and forget about the urban life as they walk along the path around it.

Benefits of Gardening:
We believe that seeding and nurturing a plant or tree is one of core service any one can do to preserve the nature and help the society at large. Gardening work provides a simple avenue for doing physical activity, it also helps immensely in relieving stress and promotes inner peace and joy, growing seeds for one’s spiritual development. We think our Garden provides a great service opportunity to members of our Community as it helps bring people together, and also helps in nurturing care and compassion.

Interested to participate in our Gardening Team? Click Here

“Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful’ and sitting in the shade”

– Poet Rudyard Kipling

As Rudyard Kipling implied in the above quote, it takes lots of dedication and effort to develop a garden and sustain it. Thanks to the dedication and passion of our volunteers, we have come along quite a journey towards fulfilling the vision set to ourselves, we still have a long way to go.  And we need more help from all to continue to grow our garden and maintain. In addition, we have several projects in the pipeline, and all are welcome to participate in our gardening projects and reap the benefits.

People from all age groups, including children can come to volunteer at Sri Sai Narayana Org, and learn gardening tips & techniques.  You don’t need any experience – Our seasoned team are eager to provide guidance and training in all aspects of gardening. Our garden team works every weekend and also does watering every day. Pick a day/time that is convenient for you.

Please sign-up here – Volunteering

For additional details please contact our office at 804 708 0867 or send email to srisainarayana@gmail.com

Here are some of our upcoming Gardening projects:

• Organic vegetable garden
• Lilies and lotus pond
• Wild flower meadows around the temple
• Landscaping around shading trees and sit outs in tree shades.
• Greenhouse & irrigation system
• Compost and recycling system