61-year-old, Patricia D’Souza has taken ahead her love for gardening by starting ‘Pots & Plants’. She speaks to NT BUZZ about what sowed the seeds of her venture and more
RAMANDEEP KAUR|NT BUZZ
Pots & Plants is the fruition of a living dream. As a child, Patricia D’Souza remembers going to the fields with her grandmother and mother in her village of Bastora, and growing up, this love for the soil turned into a passion. In fact, those who know D’Souza have always known her for having a proverbial green thumb. And Pots & Plants is the culmination of this passion. “At Pots & Plants, our endeavour is to spread happiness and smiles. We are working towards inculcating the habit of gardening and green gifting by making available the best quality pots and planters at the most reasonable rates,” she says.
Their main focus initially has been mainly on potted indoor plants such as decorative plants, succulents and bonsai as that is the trend among the young and urban crowd. “However, we also have a variety of outdoor and flowering plants. Simultaneously, we will be looking to add fruit-bearing plants and herbs to our collection too,” she says. In terms of pots they have ceramic pots in a wide variety of colours, designs and sizes. They also have terracotta pots and hand-painted terracotta pots.
In addition to this, their USP, D’Souza believes, is their customised gifting trays which are curated for any occasion and as per the customers’ requirements. She says that their aim is to promote the idea of green and sustainable gifting. “Potted plants are a great alternative to flowers and other gifts and can be customised to suit every occasion and need. Our customised potted trays are ideal for gifting for occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, birth ceremonies, festivals, etc as well as corporate gifting. Potted plants are also a great option for wedding favours and corporate gifting.”
The pots and plants are sourced from Goa as well as different states across India. “The pots are mostly sourced as per the latest trending designs, however customised pots as per the customer’s needs can be made available on order. We don’t intend to make it a big nursery like the ones you see around. But while everywhere else you get pots and plants separate, here we are trying to bring that together so that you have a finished product which can then be kept in a balcony, or for home decor,” says D’Souza.
Pots & Plants was launched on February 6 at her residence in Nagoa, and within one week they have had to restock. “The feedback has been great both by customers who have visited our store as well as on social media,” she says adding that based on the response and feedback in the first couple of weeks they are already working on adding more variety. “We’ve had a number of queries for wedding favours and are looking to add options for the same. We are also looking to start online sale and home delivery options soon. Subsequently we’ll also be looking to add more stores across Goa.”
Although a lot of elaborate planning and research has gone in to setting up of this business, Pots & Plants, says D’Souza, is essentially a new business and as such she requests people to support them, and feedback from all quarters is welcome. “Our business is customer-centric and our motto is to deliver the best quality product to the customer at the most reasonable rates and with even better service,” she says. “A plant is forever and once a customer buys a plant from us we’re connected forever. At ‘Pots & Plants’ we would like to nurture these relations like we nurture and care for our plants.”