The clock had just touched 11 on a weekday morning when I called Dipalee Nitin Rahangdale. On the other side of the phone came the soft sound of water splashing against terracotta pots, followed by a warm voice asking me to wait for a moment.
“I am just watering my plants. Can you give me a minute?” she asks gently.
A few moments later, the rustling leaves settled into the background as she returned to the call from the balcony of her rented apartment in Delhi. At 32, she speaks with a calmness that comes from finding inner peace after emotionally exhausting years, and from learning to rebuild life slowly through nature and creative expression. Her balcony is not grand by any means. Measuring just 14 by 7 feet, it is small, compact, and tucked into a city apartment. Within this limited space, she has created something astonishing.
Hanging vines spill gracefully from railings, philodendrons curl around shelves, money plants trail across corners, and nearly 50 plants stand healthy under her care. Every inch of the balcony carries intention, patience, and healing, making it feel alive beyond its greenery alone.
“Gardening became therapy for me,” she says softly. “People think peace comes from money, success, or other people. But emotionally, everyone needs something that belongs only to them. You need a hobby that heals you from within. For me, that became gardening.”
Today, thousands of people know her through her Instagram page, @WabiSabiWithDipalee, where she shares glimpses of slow living, indoor gardening, and mindful spaces. Her videos are comforting and easy to follow. There are no extravagant makeovers or luxury aesthetics designed purely for social media validation. Instead, her content reflects ordinary life in a simple, beautiful way. A woman watering plants in the morning sunlight. A mother preparing potting mix with her child. Peaceful reflections about mental health, patience, and finding beauty in imperfection.
It is this honesty that has helped her build a loyal online community of over 4,069 followers who connect with the peaceful world she has created.
Her journey feels even more touching because this little balcony garden has become a shared space between her and her six-year-old son, Kavish. While many parents struggle to pull children away from screens, he spends his afternoons helping his mother water plants, plant seeds, and rearrange pots. Sometimes, he leaves cartoons midway to sit beside her while she works with soil and leaves.
Together, mother and son are growing something bigger than a garden.
The corporate life that slowly drained her
Before becoming a gardening content creator, Dipalee spent years working in the corporate sector while trying to balance marriage, motherhood, and constant work schedules. Like many women, she strongly valued financial independence and wanted to build her own identity through work.
Every inch of the balcony carries intention, patience, and healing, making it feel alive beyond its greenery alone.
“I always wanted my own identity and the ability to stand on my own feet, so being financially independent and earning for myself was always something that mattered to me,” she says in a conversation with The Better India.
But slowly, the pressure of corporate life began draining her emotionally. Her office hours officially stretched from 9.30 in the morning to 7 in the evening, but reality was far harsher. Meetings continued late into the night because senior management arrived towards the end of the day.
By the time she returned home, it was nearly 9 pm, and whatever energy remained had already been consumed by exhaustion.
“I could not spend time with my son,” she recalls. “The whole day would disappear in work, and I used to come home feeling emotionally empty.”
In June 2023, after years of pushing herself through exhaustion, she made the difficult decision to quit her job, one that felt especially hard for someone who valued independence and self-identity.
“Leaving work affects you mentally, especially as a woman, when there is a sense of guilt attached to stepping away from a career, but I came to realise that I needed peace, and I needed time for myself and my child,” she says.
Her elder sister, Rupali Ravindra Rahangdale, watched this emotional transition closely from Pune. According to her, the difference between the Dipalee of a few years ago and the woman she is today is impossible to ignore.
“She was constantly stressed because of work,” she says. “I had seen her become mentally exhausted. But gardening changed her completely. It made her calmer, more positive, and much more patient.” Throughout her difficult phases, Rupali became one of her strongest emotional support systems.
“Whenever she felt demotivated with gardening, I would tell her not to stop and remind her that one day her hard work would pay off, so I shared her videos with people and kept motivating her constantly because I genuinely believed in what she was creating,” she says warmly.
The childhood memory hidden in marigold flowers
Dipalee’s connection with plants did not begin in adulthood. It had existed within her since childhood. Growing up in Maharashtra, she was surrounded by homes where gardening was simply a part of life. Her family maintained a kitchen garden like many households around them, but while others focused on vegetables, she found herself naturally drawn towards flowers and decoration.
“We used to grow marigold flowers during Diwali,” she says with a smile that instantly softens her voice. “I still remember decorating the house with those flowers. Those are some of my happiest childhood memories.”
Even as a child, she loved arranging spaces and decorating corners beautifully. While many children developed an interest in cooking or household work, she found joy in aesthetics and greenery.
“I was never really drawn to cooking,” she laughs, “but I have always loved flowers, home decor, and the process of turning spaces into something peaceful.”
As life became busier, however, gardening slowly disappeared into the background. After moving to Delhi and entering professional life, she barely had time for hobbies. The pace of adulthood consumed her attention completely.
Yet somewhere within her, that childhood love for plants remained alive.
Her journey feels even more touching because this little balcony garden has become a shared space between her and her six-year-old son, Kavish.
Then came August 2019, a turning point she now looks back on with gratitude. After switching jobs and spending more time at home, she bought her very first plants. “I started with a money plant, aloe vera, and tulsi, just very easy-to-care-for plants that could survive without much effort,” she recalls.
At the time, she had no idea those three plants would eventually transform her entire life.
The plants that died before the garden bloomed
Like many beginners, she initially learnt gardening through YouTube videos and internet tutorials. But the process came with confusion, mistakes, and heartbreak. “A lot of my plants died in the beginning,” she says honestly. “Sometimes because of wrong information online, and sometimes because I did not understand the plant properly.”
One of her biggest lessons came through jade plants.
“Everyone used to say jade plants are indoor plants, even nursery owners would sell them that way, but when I observed them closely myself, I realised they actually need bright sunlight to survive,” she explains.
At another point, she followed online advice suggesting kitchen waste could be directly added into soil as fertiliser, but she later realised that only peels were actually helpful, while the rest led to fungus and pest attacks that damaged several plants. “I felt terrible,” she admits. “There were times when I would almost cry after losing a plant.”
But slowly, gardening began to teach her lessons that went far beyond plant care, building her into someone more patient, observant, and emotionally strong, even in difficult moments.
“Gardening taught me that every environment is different,” she explains. “You cannot blindly follow someone else’s advice. You need to understand your own home, your sunlight, your balcony, your weather.”
Over time, her tiny balcony grew into a flourishing indoor foliage garden filled with snake plants, spider plants, philodendrons, money plants, aloe vera, bougainvillea, jade plants, wandering jew plants, umbrella trees, adeniums, lilies, air plants, areca palms, tulsi, zig-zag cactus, and many more varieties.
Because the balcony receives limited sunlight, she primarily focuses on foliage plants and low-maintenance greenery. Living in a rented apartment also influenced her gardening style significantly.
“I did not have the option of a terrace garden, and moving heavy outdoor plants from one room to another is extremely difficult, especially with monkeys and birds outside that damage them, so indoor gardening became the best solution for me,” she explains.
Why did she name her page ‘Wabi Sabi’?
Her Instagram page name, @WabiSabiWithDipalee, reflects the philosophy she now follows consciously. Inspired by the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi (finding beauty in imperfection), she believes beauty exists in imperfection, simplicity, and authenticity rather than polished perfection.
“Social media makes people feel that everything has to look perfect, from homes to aesthetics to lives, but I believe real beauty actually exists in imperfect things too,” she says.
This philosophy is evident in the way she decorates her balcony. Instead of expensive decor, she reuses simple items creatively, proving that peaceful spaces do not require luxury.
For Dipalee, gardening slowly turned into emotional healing. “When I sit with my plants, my stress disappears,” she says calmly. “Gardening slows your mind down.”
Her routine remains intentionally simple. Every day, she spends around half an hour checking soil moisture, watering plants only when necessary, pruning leaves occasionally, and adding vermicompost whenever required. Instead of chemical pesticides, she uses turmeric to prevent fungal infections naturally.
“The biggest mistake people make is overwatering,” she explains with a laugh. “Plants usually die from too much care rather than too little.”
The little boy who leaves cartoons for plants
But perhaps the most beautiful development has been the bond gardening created between her and Kavish. When Dipalee first became a mother, many people warned her that raising a child and maintaining plants together would be impossible.
Even as a child, she loved arranging spaces and decorating corners beautifully.
“People used to say that children would spoil plants and throw soil everywhere, but in my experience, my son and my plants grew together naturally, learning to coexist and care for each other over time,” she says.
Initially, her son occasionally played with soil while crawling around the balcony. But slowly, he began understanding that plants required care and gentleness. Today, at six years old, he actively participates in almost every gardening activity.
“He helps me water plants, make potting mix, plant seeds, and repot plants,” she says proudly. She believes gardening has changed him emotionally, too. Earlier, like many children, he spent long hours watching cartoons. Now, whenever she works on the balcony, he leaves the television behind and runs towards her eagerly.
“He has become more caring,” she says. “If he sees a plant somewhere, he immediately asks if we can bring it home.” More importantly, gardening has taught him patience and acceptance.
“When you plant seeds, they do not grow overnight, so he is learning to be patient, to wait for things to mature slowly, and to understand that not every plant survives, which is also teaching him that failure is a natural part of life,” she explains.
Sometimes, his innocent dreams leave her emotional. “He tells me that when he grows up, we will open a seed shop together,” she says, laughing softly.
Growing slowly, but authentically
In April 2025, Dipalee finally decided to share her journey online through Instagram. Unlike creators chasing overnight virality, she focused entirely on authenticity. “My audience is growing slowly, but organically,” she says. “I want genuine people connecting with me.”
Today, her content revolves around indoor gardening, balcony decor, mindful living, and emotional well-being through nature. Her videos capture small, personal moments from daily life: rearranging foliage in the morning sunlight, preparing potting mix with Kavish, or discussing mental peace and self-growth.
In the future, she hopes to convert her passion into something larger.
“I would love to help people create peaceful balcony spaces,” she says. “I want to teach them which plants suit different homes and how gardening can improve mental health.” And if she ever gets her dream home, she already knows exactly what she wants.
“I want either a penthouse or a ground-floor home with lots of gardening space,” she says instantly.
As our conversation ended, she returned to watering her plants while Kavish hovered nearby excitedly, asking questions about a new sapling they had recently brought home.
Watching them together, it became evident that this little balcony was never only about gardening.
Every day, she spends around half an hour checking soil moisture, and watering plants only when necessary.
It was about healing slowly after burnout. About slowing down in a world obsessed with speed. About finding emotional peace through nature. And perhaps most importantly, it was about understanding that even the smallest rented spaces can bloom beautifully when nurtured with patience and love.
All pictures courtesy Dipalee Nitin Rahangdale.
