Question

Rukmani describes her garden in vivid detail in the story. Why might she do this? What does this tell readers about how she feels about her garden, and about her character in general?

Answer 1

Using my common sense and a bit of knowledge in English, I can infer that she feels strongly about her garden and loves it very much. This leads me to believe that she is a loving and caring character. If something is described vividly this generally means that 1) this is a good writer 2) they feel strongly about what they are writing 3) both a good writer and a strong feeling. 
Hope this helps!

Answer 2

In Nectar in a Sieve, Rukmani describes her garden in vivid detail because it is important to her. This shows her character to be caring, hard-working, and patient, because it takes these qualities to care for a garden. When she learns how to be a farmer's wife and what that requires, she creates her vegetable garden, and works hard to care for it. From this, the readers can learn that Rukmani loves the earth, and draws strength from its beauty.