NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 3 Canvas of Soil (poem)

Q1.

I. People wish to have a garden at home. Some like a flower garden and some a vegetable garden. Think and note some advantages of both these types, as gardens for homes.

Answer

Note the instruction: you must list advantages of both, not choose between them. The choice comes in the next item. Make two clean columns so that your partner can use them in the discussion that follows.

Advantages of a flower garden	Advantages of a vegetable garden
Beauty and colour all year, if you plan the seasons — the ‘canvas’ the poem describes.	It feeds the family. Even a small patch can supply daily coriander, chillies, curry leaves, tomatoes and methi.
It calms people. Sitting among flowers is restful, and colour affects mood.	It saves money and cuts the vegetable bill, and there is no cost of packaging or transport.
It attracts butterflies, bees and birds, so it supports pollination in the whole neighbourhood.	You know exactly what has gone into the food — no unknown sprays or chemicals.
Flowers are used at home for worship, for garlands, and as gifts, so nothing has to be bought.	Kitchen waste goes into compost and comes back as soil, so the household produces less garbage.
It improves the look of the house and the street, and gives shade and cooler air.	The harvest teaches patience and responsibility — a plant left unwatered for two days shows it.
Many flowering plants — bougainvillea, portulaca, kaner — survive with very little water and care.	Fast results: radish, spinach and coriander can be picked within a few weeks, which keeps a beginner interested.

Two points worth adding in the discussion: first, the choice is not really either–or — most Indian home gardens mix the two, with tulsi and curry leaf beside the roses, and marigold planted along the vegetable beds because it keeps some pests away. Second, the practical limits decide as much as taste: how much sun the space gets, how much water you can spare, and who will be at home to look after it in the holidays.

Q2.

II. Would you like to have a flower garden or a vegetable garden at home? Why? Take turns with your partner and speak your points aloud, one by one, by using the given sentence prompts to express your preference, with reasons. • I prefer __________ to __________ because ... • For me, it is a __________ instead of a __________ due to ... • If I had a choice I’d rather have a ________ than a __________ as ... • I would prefer __________ rather than __________ since ...

Answer

The four prompts are four ways of saying the same thing, so the language point is to notice the grammar each one demands — get that right and the sentences sound natural.

Prompt	The pattern it uses	Watch out for
I prefer X to Y because…	prefer + noun + to + noun	Not “prefer X than Y”. With prefer, the word is always to.
For me, it is a X instead of a Y due to…	instead of + noun; due to + noun phrase	Due to is followed by a noun, not a clause — “due to the small space”, not “due to the space is small”.
If I had a choice I’d rather have a X than a Y as…	would rather + bare infinitive + than	“I’d rather have”, never “I’d rather to have”. And with rather the word is than, not to.
I would prefer X rather than Y since…	would prefer + noun + rather than	Since here means because, and must be followed by a full clause.

Sample answer (choosing the vegetable garden):

“I prefer a vegetable garden to a flower garden because it gives us something back every week — my mother has not bought coriander or green chillies for two years.”
“For me, it is a vegetable patch instead of a flower bed due to the size of our terrace, which has room for only eight pots.”
“If I had a choice I’d rather have a vegetable garden than a flower garden as it makes our kitchen waste useful: the peels go into the compost drum and come back as soil.”
“I would prefer growing vegetables rather than flowers since I can see the result in three weeks, and that keeps me interested enough to water them every day.”

Sample answer (choosing the flower garden):

“I prefer a flower garden to a vegetable garden because our house faces a dusty road, and a row of bougainvillea and kaner makes the whole veranda pleasant to sit in.”
“For me, it is a flower garden instead of a vegetable garden due to the shortage of water in our colony in April and May — most flowering plants we grow survive on very little.”
“If I had a choice I’d rather have a flower garden than a vegetable one as we need flowers every morning for the puja and for my grandmother’s hair.”
“I would prefer a flower garden rather than a vegetable garden since the butterflies and sunbirds that come to it are the only wildlife my younger brother ever sees.”

Tip for the pair work: take one prompt each, in turn, and do not repeat a reason your partner has already used. Four prompts × two speakers means eight different reasons — which is exactly the point of the exercise.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 3 Canvas of Soil (poem) — Speaking Activity