GardenUp

GardenUp is a Mumbai-based landscaping and urban greening company founded in 2017 by Dr. Ekta Chaudhary, a PhD ecologist from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. What began as a personal project to greenify a hostel room at IISc has grown into one of India’s most recognised green living brands — combining professional landscaping services, an online store for gardening essentials, and a thriving educational community with over one million YouTube subscribers.

About GardenUp

GardenUp was born out of a conviction that every urban space, no matter how small, can become a living, breathing ecosystem. Dr. Ekta Chaudhary spent a decade researching ecology and sustainable farming practices among communities in the Himalayas before completing her PhD. Instead of taking an academic path, she channelled that deep scientific knowledge into a hands-on mission: bringing nature back into India’s cities, one garden at a time. Today, GardenUp serves some of the largest gated communities and corporate offices in Maharashtra, and has worked with major organisations including HSBC, Novartis, SoftBank Energy, ICICI Prudential, and Asian Paints.

Services Offered by GardenUp

GardenUp offers a comprehensive suite of professional landscaping and urban greening services tailored to homes, offices, commercial establishments, and large-scale township projects.

• Indoor Planting and Maintenance: Design and ongoing care for indoor green spaces in offices, residences, and hospitality venues. Studies show that indoor plants reduce stress, improve air quality, and boost productivity — GardenUp ensures these spaces thrive long-term.
• Landscape Design and Development: End-to-end landscape creation for terraces, villas, restaurant courtyards, and building podiums. The team handles everything from plant selection and soil preparation to irrigation and finishing.
• Turnkey Contracting for Landscape Work: For builders and developers seeking green certifications, GardenUp provides complete project execution — from concept drawings to planted and maintained green areas ready for handover.
• Vertical Garden Consulting and Auditing: Space-efficient gardening solutions using vertical wall systems, ideal for compact urban environments. These installations reduce the urban heat island effect, absorb pollutants, and add significant aesthetic value to any facade.
• Miyawaki Forest Development: GardenUp specialises in the Miyawaki method, a Japanese afforestation technique that creates ultra-dense, native micro-forests that grow 10 times faster and are 30 times denser than conventional plantations. These forests use indigenous plant species in multi-layered arrangements, rapidly restoring biodiversity in urban pockets. Costs start from approximately ₹100 per sq. m, making it accessible for industrial townships, corporate campuses, schools, hospitals, and municipalities.
• Corporate Team-Building Workshops: Hands-on gardening workshops designed for corporate teams, educational institutions, and community organisations. These experiences foster environmental awareness and a sense of connection with nature.
• Plant Rental Services: Temporary green installations for events, offices, and homes — complete with maintenance included.

GardenUp Online Store

Beyond professional services, GardenUp runs an online store stocked with products curated for home gardeners: organic soils, organic fertilisers, pots and planters, and specialist gardening supplies. The store reflects the same philosophy as the services — making sustainable, nature-positive choices easy and accessible for every Indian household.

Education and Community

A distinguishing feature of GardenUp is its commitment to spreading gardening knowledge far beyond its paid client base. The GardenUp YouTube channel, which started in that same IISc hostel room in 2017, today has over 1.4 million subscribers. A second Hindi-language YouTube channel, launched in 2019 to take viewers behind the scenes of the company, has built a community of over 2 lakh followers. Dr. Chaudhary’s Skillshare gardening course is the most-watched course from India on the platform. In 2022, Penguin Random House published her book, Garden Up: Your One Stop Guide to Growing Plants at Home, which became a bestseller in its category in India.

Sustainability Philosophy

GardenUp’s entire model is built on ecological restoration and green living. The business promotes native plant species, organic soil health, and low-chemical gardening methods. The Miyawaki method — central to GardenUp’s large-scale projects — actively combats urban air pollution, reduces the heat island effect, sequesters carbon, and restores habitat for local pollinators and birds. GardenUp serves developers and builders seeking IGBC or green building certifications, urban municipalities tackling pollution challenges, and individuals who simply want their homes to be greener and healthier places.

Why GardenUp Belongs in the Prakati Green Directory

GardenUp exemplifies what the Prakati Green Directory was built to celebrate: a mission-driven business that makes sustainability tangible, accessible, and beautiful. From single plant setups in Mumbai apartments to multi-acre Miyawaki forests for industrial townships, GardenUp demonstrates that ecological restoration and urban living can — and must — coexist. The company’s scientific foundation, education-first approach, and track record with large organisations make it one of India’s most credible voices in urban sustainability.