In Dombivli, a 38-YO Woman’s 400-Sq-Ft Balcony Is Home to 70+ Plants, Sparrows & Butterflies

On most mornings in Dombivli, while the city below gears up for daily chaos, Asmita Purohit stands quietly on her tiny balcony, running her fingers over a cluster of glossy money plant leaves. Sparrows flit in and out of birdhouses above her head, their chirps rising and falling like a soothing soundtrack.

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For a moment, it feels as though the 38-year-old homemaker is standing not in a small apartment but inside a pocket-sized forest. In her 400-sq-ft flat, Asmita has created a green oasis with patience and care.

More than 70 plants thrive in her home with the help of homemade compost and bioenzymes. Butterflies flutter in when the caterpillars she nurtures complete their transformation, while sparrows raise their young inside her balcony.

“Now I am not only a mother of a beautiful daughter,” she says softly, “but also a mother of so many plants, birds, and butterflies.”

But this lush ecosystem did not begin as a lifestyle choice. It began as a coping mechanism.

Finding her father in every leaf

Born and raised in Nagpur, Asmita lost her father in a road accident when she was very young. It was through this loss that her bond with plants first took root.

“As a child, I kept asking my mother where my father was,” she recalls. “She would smile and tell me he was everywhere — in the sunrise, the breeze, in every plant around us. That stayed with me. So every time I plant something, it feels like I’m growing his love a little more.”

Even today, gardening remains her emotional anchor.

After marriage, Asmita moved to Mumbai in 2016 — a transition that came as a culture shock.

“In Nagpur, cows would come to our doorstep to eat vegetable peels,” she says. “Here, I saw a cow tied outside a temple, and people had to pay money to feed it. Even kindness felt commercialised.”

With little greenery, heavy pollution, and hardly any direct sunlight, Asmita decided to build what the city could not give her — a functioning green ecosystem inside her own home.

Composting: learning through failure

An MCom graduate, Asmita soon realised that healthy plants needed a steady supply of good manure. That understanding led her to try composting at home.

Her first attempt — a 15-litre oil can converted into a compost bin — was a failure. It smelled, attracted flies, and simply didn’t work.

“I had no guidance then,” she says. “But failure taught me.”

Today, she uses a terracotta composter from Daily Dump, and another repurposed from a matka (earthen pot).

Every few weeks, Asmita gathers dry leaves in a gunny bag and lets her daughter jump on it until they are finely crushed. These leaves, along with coco-peat, form her dry waste.

Her method is simple: layer dry waste, add kitchen waste, and cover it again with dry material. The mix is turned every 15 days. In about 40–45 days, the compost is ready.

One tip she shares is to avoid painting terracotta composters with oil-based paint. “Terracotta needs to breathe,” she explains. “If you block its pores, the compost won’t work.”

Soil, sunlight and smart planting

Good soil, Asmita says, is porous soil. “Nursery plants often come in clay-heavy soil that suffocates roots.” To improve aeration, she mixes sieved soil, sand, small stones, and homemade compost before potting.

Because her flat receives limited sunlight, she focuses on plants that thrive in indirect light — money plants, spider plants, Song of India, beetle plant, and areca palms.

While her roses didn’t survive, aparajita (butterfly pea) vines now climb the window grill. Her ajwain (carom) plants grew so well that she shared cuttings with neighbours.

Bioenzymes: seven years of trial and error

Asmita has been making bioenzymes for seven years, learning largely through experimentation. Her first bottle burst open.

Today, she brews more than 40 varieties using fruit peels, flowers, and leaves. The bioenzymes are used for everything from speeding up composting to cleaning drains and nourishing plants.

“Citrus bioenzymes work best for home gardens,” she says.

She sources raw material creatively. Once, after buying a pineapple, she asked the vendor for leftover peels and later returned with a bottle of the bioenzyme she had made from them.

A cycle of ‘give and take’ with sparrows

Asmita has installed six birdhouses from the Save Sparrow campaign. Though they were offered free of cost, she chose to buy them to support the initiative.

For months, sparrows only inspected the houses and fed there. Then one day, they finally moved in.

Four years on, she has seen 20–25 broods hatch. The chirping begins at 4 am, and sparrows often squabble over the best houses.

“We just close the sliders and let them live,” she laughs.

Because Asmita uses only natural compost and bioenzymes, insects feeding on her plants aren’t poisoned. When sparrows eat pests like mealybugs and caterpillars, they protect the plants without harm.

“It’s a cycle of give and take — the sparrows pay rent by doing pest control,” she jokes.

She also rescues some caterpillars, raising them in a ventilated box until they turn into butterflies — a transformation her daughter loves to watch.

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Short Q&A: Nurturing an apartment garden

Is it possible to grow flowering plants on a balcony with little or no direct sunlight?

Yes. Some flowering plants can thrive even in low-light conditions. These include peace lily, vinca (periwinkle), and aparajita (butterfly pea).

Which plants have worked best for you in low-light balcony conditions?

Plants that adapt well to low light have worked best for me. These include money plant, ZZ plant, peace lily, snake plant, vinca, aloe vera, Song of India, spider plant, ajwain, pothos, betel leaf plant, onion, garlic, bamboo, and areca palm. They are hardy, need minimal direct sunlight, and continue to grow well even in shaded balconies.

What signs tell you that a plant is not suited to its current spot?

Common signs include yellowing or browning leaves, curled or scorched foliage, brown edges or tips, very slow or stalled growth, pale leaves, and long, weak stems with few leaves. These usually indicate a need to change light, water, or placement.

What should beginners avoid to prevent bad smells and pests while composting at home?

Avoid adding dairy products, meat, oily food, and pet waste, as these attract pests and cause foul odours. Composting works best with a balance of ‘greens’ and ‘browns’. Greens include fruit and vegetable peels, while browns include dry leaves, shredded paper, cardboard, cocopeat, or coconut husk. Always cover kitchen waste with dry material to keep compost clean and smell-free.

How do bioenzymes help in composting and keeping plants healthy?

Bioenzymes help organic waste break down faster, speeding up composting. They contain beneficial bacteria and active enzymes that enrich the soil, improve soil structure, and boost plant immunity. They also act as natural pesticides and insecticides.

‘Grow what you can’

Asmita shares her learnings through hands-on workshops on bioenzymes, composting, and waste reduction. 

She has held sessions in schools, spoken at Sewagram Beejotsav, and addressed the National Seminar on Organic and Natural Farming organised by the Ministry of Agriculture.

“I don’t teach anything out of the box,” she says. “Whatever I share is what I do every day.”

For busy professionals, her advice is simple: spend one hour a week to tend to pots and compost, and daily maintenance will soon become low-effort. 

“You don’t have to grow 100 plants,” she says. “Grow what you can.”