A perennial question of those in their 40s is “what would we do when they retire?” While some wish to travel the world, others might just want to relax and do what they love. But what if you could enjoy the glory of gardening with your hands in the dirt, head in the sun and heart with nature, in the words of English poet Alfred Austin. We talk to two such ladies from Fort Kochi, who are also making some pocket money out of their passion for gardening.When retired BSNL employee Etty D’Silva stands admiring her anthurium plants, her world comes to a standstill. She carefully plucks the dried leaves, caresses the plants and walks around. Her interactions remind one of the famous quote, “The Earth laughs in flowers.”Etty was first enchanted by anthurium flowers 30 years ago. “My husband and I had been to my uncle’s house in Valparai and we saw the deep red flowers. My husband was passionate about gardening and we had more than 200 varieties of roses. Out of curiosity, we brought them home and they grew,” she says.Etty says she had no idea about gardening back then and only used to support her husband’s green ventures. While she was employed, she used to water them early in the morning. “Now I have plenty of time,” beams the grandmother of two.Her love for anthurium didn’t go unnoticed either. “One day a person who was exporting flowers approached me after spotting the flowers in my courtyard. Since then every week, flowers are picked from here and exported to different clients,” she says.Etty gets `9 for the larger flowers and `7 and `3 for medium-sized and small ones, respectively. “I cannot call it a revenue, but I get back what I spend for the plants,” she says. She doesn’t use pesticides and instead uses on neem oil and organic manure.Maintaining the garden is a priority for the family as it was the favourite spot of Etty’s husband, who passed away 10 years ago. Etty says, “I won’t let anything happen to it. The garden belongs to my husband and I feel his soul still resides there. So, I do not feel like losing even a sapling,” she says. “I also give away plants free as I feel happy that the plants are multiplying.”A swing, smiling gnomes and vibrant flowers welcome you outside Lata Dholakia’s house surrounded by greenery. The extreme corner of her big lawn though is the highlight, with the red, yellow and orange heliconia flowers in full bloom.The Gujarat native was married into a Kerala-based family, who runs a tea business, in 1971. “Tea was never my cup of tea!” quips Lata. So, she grew flowers. “I have a garden of flowers, especially orchids. It was once the largest orchid farm Kerala had, with more than 45,000 plants. I used to import them from Bangkok and sell the plants as well as the flowers too,” she recalls.Lata wound up her business two years ago. “I love nature, and I cannot retire from plants. When I stopped supplying orchids, my clients said they would rather give up than getting flowers from others. That’s when I told them I can give them heliconia, which is a sturdy plant. All we need to do is just manure and water them. Pests and insects do not harm it,” she says.One heliconia comes for `80- `90. “It depends on the variety. Queen of Paradise is a kind of heliconia that will cost around `50. Iris, a thicker variety lasts longer, and costs around `90,” she explains.Lata reveals that gardening has never been just a pastime. “Even when it was business, I never felt happy when I sold a plant or cut a flower. You develop a strong bond with the plants over time and I have always felt that they respond to our feelings. The more you care, the happier you are,” she says. “Being with plants is also a kind of meditation. It gives me peace.”

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