Hector

1. Why did you choose gardening as your career? 

Well, my father was into gardening and so was my grandfather. Besides, I love being outside in the fresh air, sunlight, and of course, the greens! It helps me boost my mood and also gardening is all about bringing that joy to your life. Yeah, I am ignoring the soil part completely when I say this, but it brings back a lot of childhood memories is what I feel.  And I cannot ignore the fact that my parents and grandfathers had this passion and love for nature, which made me admire them and my love for nature grew from here. 

2. Share any memorable moment as a gardener.

As a child, I loved walking in my grandfather’s garden. He always grew zinnias, and without it, his garden would be incomplete. One summer day, as I was walking in the garden, I spotted his tiger swallowtail butterfly touching down and that was mesmerizing to watch. I called my father and told him to take a picture of grandpa, the butterfly, and me. When I look at this photo, I remember my grandpa and wonder if perhaps his spirit keeps visiting my garden every day. 

3. Which is your favorite vacation spot?

My favorite holiday destination would be Kerala, India. I have heard a lot about it from Tarla. She had visited the place a few times and when she told me about the beauty and the environment, I was astonished which led to me visit it. Here, people still believe that the beauty of this place is holy and isn’t that great! About the food, the vegetables, and the spices are fresh and it's good for your diet. If you are looking for a wonderful holiday, you should go to Kerala! 

4. What are the challenges that you expect as a gardener?

As a gardener, you need to know everything that will help you make your garden look astonishing and ease off the plantation and maintenance process. Keeping a garden is okay, but the hard part is always maintaining it, which should be made easier so that you enjoy what you do. You should have good knowledge about all the new techniques and methods that hop on the market. I would say, being up to date about all the processes – from sowing seeds to harvesting would be e challenge as a gardener. 

5. Tell us something we don’t know about you.

Two things – I hug people and smile a lot! You’ve been warned but I do it some much that people all over the country have given me the nickname ‘Brother Teresa’. Haha! The second one’s a true story from my childhood. I drank gasoline from my parent’s lawn mower gas tank because I liked the smell of it. To say that I ‘got sick’ afterward is like saying ‘Lady Gaga’ is kind of cute. Now I hate it so much and that’s my least favorite thing on planet earth.