Md Delwar Hossain from Noakhali has been running a nursery business in the capital for 17 years. His love of trees brought him to the trade, and he now runs well-arranged nurseries on Eskaton Road and in Ashiyan City in Dhaka.

As a young man, he was the driver of Dr Anwar Hossain, dean at American International University-Bangladesh. Seeing Dr Anwar Hossain's love of trees, he too became a tree lover. He said: "My sir and his wife loved trees. They often bought plants, and I had to look after them. That is how my liking began."

Though he started small, Delwar now has two nurseries, one in Eskaton and the other in Ashiyan City. Named 'Bahar Nursery', they are decorated with indoor and outdoor plants and flowering and fruit trees, and catch the eye of everyone nearby.

Because little sunlight reaches Eskaton road, he has concentrated on indoor and outdoor plants rather than flowering and fruit trees. Delwar said: "Here, demand is high for indoor and decorative plants such as cactus, orchid, succulents, bonsai, ficus, monstera, money plant, fern, areca palm, agnishwar and aglaonema. Prices vary by size and species."

People in the capital also come to buy outdoor plants. He said: "Besides planting on balconies and rooftops, various plants are one of the main ways offices and restaurants in Dhaka are beautified. Organisers even come to rent attractive plants to decorate social, political, government and other events."

Many nurseries have sprung up around Delwar's on Eskaton Road, but his nursery is trusted by all, and many old customers still flock to buy saplings from him. He said: "I rent plants to some offices, which brings in rent every month. Together with plant sales, I earn Tk 25,000 a month in all."

There are about 300 nurseries in the Dhaka City Corporation area, most of them in Agargaon, Tinsho Feet, Eksho Feet, Diabari, Doel Chattar, Bailey Road, Kakrail and the embankment area, and they offer home delivery. Here Delwar Hossain lags somewhat behind. He said: "We had a Facebook page and delivered to homes when orders came online. When the nursery was closed during coronavirus, the page's reach fell. I am taking steps to restart it and will be able to start very soon."

Asked about his future plans, Delwar Hossain said: "I am not young any more; I am 53. My wife works in a government job and the children have grown up. With four children and the two of us, we are doing well. I have no new plans for the future. As long as I live, I will keep earning from the nursery like this."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.