What started as a way to keep herself company during COVID-19 isolation has become a successful business for former fashion designer Tanzila Akhi, who now earns over Tk2 lakh a month selling indoor plants.
Her nursery, spread across eight decimals of land at her ancestral home in Shibchar, Madaripur, has 1,148 plant species, about 70 per cent of which are indoor plants.
Tanzila said, “My garden has a Variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma Aurea plant. The rare plant is worth Tk30,000. I have managed to propagate one sapling from it. The plant produces one leaf every six months.”
Tanzila’s foray into horticulture began in 2019 purely as a leisure pursuit.
However, her connection with greenery deepened during the pandemic when, stricken with COVID-19 and separated from others, a handful of balcony plants served as her only companions.
Alongside her personal recuperation, she began tending to the plants and spending hours with them, forming an enduring bond.
Following her recovery, she resolved to set up a nursery and deliberately chose to venture into indoor greenery rather than conventional outdoor flora.
Residing in Malibagh, Dhaka, at the time owing to her employment, she made an initial outlay of Tk78,000 to acquire seven to eight plant varieties, including succulent plants.
She relocated the collection to Narsingdi, her husband’s official posting, where she broadened gardening operations on a larger scale.
In December 2024, she moved her entire collection from Narsingdi to her family home in Shibchar, establishing the full garden across eight decimals of land.
Tanzila had previously been employed at an organisation named Green Bangla in Dhaka.
In 2022, she resigned from her job to devote herself entirely to plants.
To strengthen her entrepreneurial capabilities, she completed a six-month entrepreneurship training programme on indoor plants at BRAC University.
Over the ensuing months, she attended various seminars, workshops, and training sessions, participated in exhibitions with dedicated stalls, and studied lesser-known horticultural traits.
In April 2023, she officially launched commercial operations.
Today, the plant stock in her garden is valued at approximately Tk25 lakh.
Maintaining the nursery demands rigorous everyday labour.
Tanzila devotes four to five hours daily to plant maintenance and an additional two to three hours to packaging and dispatching consignments via courier services.
Sales are primarily driven online through her dedicated website and her Facebook page, “Wonder Garden BD”.
Her regular clientele includes major corporate offices across Dhaka as well as individual collectors from affluent neighbourhoods in the capital.
Among her collection, the highest sales volumes come from Philodendron, Aglaonema, Snake plant, Anthurium, Monstera, and Fittonia.
In addition, colourful cacti, herb plants, Stevia, and Insulin plant sell in substantial numbers.
Tanzila noted that the majority of her parent plants were originally imported from Thailand and propagated and produced in her own nursery.
Her husband, Md Billal Hossain, an engineer at the Power Development Board, expressed deep pride in her transformation from hobbyist to commercial success.
“My wife is now a successful entrepreneur from a hobby, and we are proud of her success with plants,” said Billal.
“I support her in all her work. Recently, we returned from participating in a plant fair in Dhaka. Our family now revolves around greenery, and a distinct affection has developed for these plants”.
Neighbours and local residents have similarly lauded the venture. Local resident Milon praised her dedication, remarking that residents take immense pride in such a striking garden established through the hard work of a female entrepreneur.
Another neighbour, Sajjad Hossain Khan, observed that this was the first eco-friendly nursery of its kind in Shibchar, noting that both budding and established entrepreneurs merit encouragement.
Highlighting the broader economic implications, Shibchar Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Alimuzzaman Khan confirmed that the Department of Agriculture is providing essential advice and technical assistance to such young entrepreneurs.
“Most youths in Shibchar travel abroad in search of a livelihood,” Alimuzzaman observed.
“Under these circumstances, it is our collective duty to extend maximum encouragement and necessary support so that youths can generate self-employment through agriculture and nursery-based initiatives”.
Looking ahead, the entrepreneur plans to broaden her nursery’s perimeter and incorporate orchid cultivation.
