In Boalmari, Faridpur, a young man named Akash Saha has made a garden on the third-floor roof of his family home. Adenium, the 'desert rose', blooms in many varieties and colours across the 1,800 sq ft roof, alongside at least several thousand other plants, including rare flowering species. The plant is native to the deserts of east South Africa, but it now grows in Bangladesh too.

On a visit, adenium flowers could be seen in white, yellow, pink, orange, maroon, purple and other colours. Visitors and buyers come from near and far to see the garden.

Akash Saha works for a private company. About six years ago he started the garden as a hobby with just 20 plants, collected from Thailand at a cost of Tk 2,000-3,000. Over six years he has built it up bit by bit and is now a successful entrepreneur. The garden holds several thousand plants; he raises seed from his own flowers and grows seedlings from it himself. The plants on the roof are now worth about Tk 7-8 lakh, and he earns at least Tk 15,000-20,000 a month selling adenium and other seedlings.

His wife, Oishi Saha, told Jagonews: "We now have countless desert rose plants and seedlings on our roof, collected from different places, as well as many other plants and flowers. We tend them morning and evening, and it makes us very happy. Growing these desert plants on the roof lifts our spirits. People come from all over to see them and buy seedlings. They need little water and little care, and the flowers are beautiful."

Akash's mother, Sadhana Saha, said: "My son planted these five or six years ago. At first we did not like it. Then people started coming from outside to see them, and that made us very happy. Now we love it."

Swapan Saha, a resident of Faridpur Sadar who came to buy seedlings, told Jagonews: "There are many kinds of desert flowering plants here. I found out about it online and came to see it in person. I liked it very much and have come to buy quite a few plants. I will decorate a rooftop garden too."

Akash Saha told Jagonews: "When I first started, my family and relatives more or less called it madness. It began as a hobby but has now taken a commercial shape. I built the garden bit by bit with a lot of hard work and love. Now people come from near and far to see it and buy seedlings."

He said: "I sell Tk 15,000-20,000 worth of seedlings a month on average, raised from seed from my own plants. My garden now has plants priced from Tk 100 up to Tk 25,000, as well as various other flowering plants. There are fewer flowers just now, but the hotter it gets, the more the plants will be covered in bloom."

"There are flowers all year," he added, "but in winter the plants go dormant and drop all their leaves. Rain and too much water spoil the flowers. The adeniums have been repotted and pulled, so there will be plenty of flowers this time. Adenium has adapted well to the country's climate, so in the intense heat the plants will flower heavily."

Boalmari Upazila Agriculture Officer Alvir Rahman told Jagonews: "Akash Saha has grown the desert rose, which we know as adenium, on his rooftop garden. He is selling plants at prices from Tk 250 to more than Tk 2,500. We can see many kinds of flowers in his rooftop garden."

Boalmari Upazila Nirbahi Officer SM Rakibul Hasan told Jagonews: "This is good news. A plant from desert regions has been grown in our Boalmari. We will try to stand by successful entrepreneurs like this."

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