Daijiworld Media Network - London

London, Aug 30: Ron Rodrigues, a Mangalorean settled in the UK, has achieved a wondrous feat, growing the tropical banana plantation right in his backyard in Harrow, London amid cold weather.

Ron’s story of growing banana plants goes back to about six years. It is a story of perseverance and love for mother nature, and a fond rememberance of his hometown.

One day he was sitting in his new conservatory and looking out into the garden and reminiscing about Mangalore, when he realized that the only thing lacking in his garden in the United Kingdom was the banana plant, which was abundant in his hometown, and the succulent bunches hanging from them. He wished he could recreate the home scene in his backyard in Vista Way, Harrow.

He wasted no time in making his wish a reality. He ordered his first ‘plant’ online for £5 and waited for it, fully expecting it to arrive either in a commercial van or a special delivery because of its size. Having had no response from the website sellers, he contacted them to report non-delivery of his order. He was quite surprised when they informed him that his order had been dispatched the same day and should have arrived by the normal post next day in an envelope.

Ironically, Ron’s wife Violet who actually had received the post thought it was nothing more than some advertising material, and chucked it in the refuse bin. An exasperated Ron then had to retrieve and rescue the baby banana plants, no bigger than about four inches, wrapped in a fuzzy envelope, from the garden bin. Without losing hope to ‘resurrect’ the highly mistreated plants which had gone through several postal seals, Ron planted them with a prayer to Saint Fiacre, the patron saint of gardeners in a special sunny part of his garden and waited for them to rejuvenate, grow and bear fruit.

Ron waited for six years, tenderly looking after the young plants and nurturing them. Now, after a few failed attempts, 35 plants bore fruit, and so did his hard work. He can finally sit in his conservatory and look out into his garden, seeing for himself a bit of his home town recreated – banana plants in abundance and every one of them showing signs of fruiting and some already in bunches.

The local newspaper Harrow Observer’s representative who came to visit Ron in his garden was so impressed by the banana plantation that he even suggested to Ron that it could be an entry for the Guinness Book of Records. Harrow Observer carried a front page news titled "Gardener manages to grow tropical bananas in West London home after eight years" earlier this month.

Undoubtedly, Ron has set an example for other Indians in the UK. May his tribe increase.