Meet Patricia who ventured into planting greens

For 61-year-old, Patricia D’Souza from Bastora, retirement could mean sitting at home chilling with her pets, but instead she decided to take up gardening and ventured into the field of selling exotic plants. “I have always loved gardening. Plants give me peace and happiness and during the lockdown I noticed people are discontent and unhappy because they've got nothing to do.So, it dawned upon me that if I could find peace and happiness in plants so could others and with the help of my children I have launched this venture.”
Her love for plants grew from the time she remembers going to the fields with her grandmother and mother in Bastora. “Growing up the concept of farming was to sustain the family for a living as the “need of the hour” but there’s magic when one touches the soil (Mother Earth as we call it), the emphasis of this soil is what sowed the seeds of love for plants, farming and gardening. Anything related to plants has always given me that peace and happiness.”
She says “plants to me are a hobby not work.” And we need hobbies to keep ourselves engaged. If you see during the lockdown many young people struggled because they realised they don't have enough hobbies and not being able to go out to work or meet friends they felt a general sense of emptiness. We have begun our journey with potted indoor plants as that's what today's young and urban generation look forward for. Customised gifting is our USP as we've noticed there's a lack of innovative and fresh gifting options in the market. At the same time we're also working on a nursery simultaneously and soon we'll have all types of indoor and outdoor plants in addition to potted plants.”