Novaira and Rabia lived in Karachi with their parents. One afternoon, as was usual when they reached home from school, after changing their uniforms and having their lunch, they sat in front of the TV and started watching random TV shows. Their mother and father were at work, the girls were getting bored.

Suddenly, a show grabbed their attention and they stopped switching the channels. The show was about horticulture and gardening, the topic was of great interest to both so they sat attentively and started watching.

The main theme of the show was to provide knowledge to beginners who were interested in starting a garden in their homes; the show also discussed the benefits plants had on people and the overall environment.

It was then that Novaira turned to Rabia and said, “Why don’t we start a garden in our home?”

“But where will we make the garden? We don’t have enough space for it because we live in an apartment,” Rabia replied dejectedly.

“Yeah, but we can start it on our balcony,” said Novaira.

“Hmm … sounds good, but let’s ask mum about it,” Rabia said while thinking.

“Hey, I have an idea, why don’t we surprise mum with the mini garden in our balcony because mum loves plants so much and always wants to have plants in the house. But because she is too busy, she hasn’t got the chance to do that. And by the way, Mother’s Day is next week, and we can celebrate it in our balcony,” Novaira said excitedly, with emotions flowing like a torrent.

“Wow, I can imagine the happiness on mum’s face even now!” Rabia said excitedly.

But then they both became quiet, as they started thinking of where to start.

Novaira said, “Let’s pen down which flowers, plant and pots to buy.”

“Yes, and I will decorate the pots with my acrylic paints,” Rabia came up with an idea.

“We can also buy a mini artificial grass carpet for the balcony floor,” Novaira came up with another idea.

Both sisters then counted their pocket money, which they found was enough for the stuff they were thinking to buy. Then they decided to start buying plants from the next day after school. And they also decided to hide them until the night before Mother’s Day, when they would arrange and decorate their balcony.

So, the next day, the girls spoke to Uncle Jamil, who also served as the gardener in their building about buying the perfect plants and decoration stuff. He guided them on how to take care of the plants, among other things. Both Novaira and Rabia enthusiastically arranged all the thing and made sure that they carefully hid the pots in their room and also made the Mother’s Day cards.

Then, a day before Mother’s Day, Novaira and Rabia started on their project of creating a home garden in their balcony to surprise their mum. Rabia crafted various patterns and painted the pots, while they both hung vines and delicately positioned climbing plants on the railing. To top it off, Novaira adorned the plants and railing with fairy lights.

That day, they bought their mum’s favourite strawberry cake and some snacks, and then made homemade chicken sandwiches. The girls also included their dad in their plan and tactfully organised the mini-party on their balcony. In the evening, when their mother arrived from work, they blindfolded her and slowly and steadily took her to the beautiful little garden they made for her as a present on Mother’s Day.

Novaira took off the blindfold and all of them shouted, “Surprise mum! Happy Mother’s Day!”

Their mother couldn’t believe her eyes; it was a beautiful scene; she had always envisioned, a home garden but couldn’t fulfil her dream because of her busy schedule. Overwhelmed with emotions, she hugged Rabia and Novaira, appreciating their heartfelt gestures and a wonderful arrangement of everything.

Afterward, the girls presented their handmade cards to their mum and invited her to cut the cake. It was a memorable evening, crafted with the pure love of daughters for their mother.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 11th, 2024