During the hour and a half that we spent chatting with Peggy and Debbie Chin it was clear that they were having a light morning. They said plants and flowers have their own Christmas market, though what we learnt from them much later was that plant lovers do much of their Christmas shopping earlier in the year. Christmas trees are bought several months earlier and replanted on the buyers’ premises. By the time Christmas comes around all that is left to do is the decoration.
Peggy and Debbie are a pair of amiable sisters who own Garden Land, one of the country’s most respected plant nurseries. Garden Land’s business premises is situated opposite St Stanislaus College on Brickdam. There is no commercial signboard hanging and you could easily miss the place.
It’s easy to tell that the Chins are dedicated horticulturalists. Though not entirely uncaring of the commercial significance of the enterprise, they both seem more mindful of the various ways in which plants enhance the quality of human life.
When we arrived at Garden Land, Peggy and Debbie were under a shed at the front of the premises contemplating a collection of blood red poinsettias and a magnificent Norfolk Fern arranged on a table. These, they said, along with Cyprus Christmas trees were good seasonal sellers. The poinsettias varied in size and Peggy said that they would part with some of the smaller ones for around $2,500. The Norfolk Fern, a particularly healthy looking species, would cost around $7,000. As with every other commodity it is the market that drives the price. The Chins say that the market for plants is divided between the converted greens and those consumers who treat plants as status symbols.
As more Guyanese move to acquire homes, the market continues to expand. It is already a countrywide multi-million dollar industry. Plant theft has become commonplace. Peggy says that not all of the fast-growing army of consumers are prepared to finance the habit. Garden Land has been a victim of theft. There is a thriving market for stolen plants.
The poinsettia is as interesting as it is attractive. If it is to be “in season” for Christmas it has to be grown in carefully contemplated cycles. If it is to be at its best for the holidays it has to kept in complete darkness for three months. Three months after leaves turn red they wither and die, a reminder, perhaps, that the yuletide season has past and gone. The Chins believe that the seasonal market for poinsettias has still not quite exhausted itself.
The growth of the market for plants is hardly surprising. The Chins explain that apart from individual consumer demand, plants and flowers have come to be associated with most ceremonies and social events; so much so that Garden Land also offers a rental service for potted plants.
The expanding market has not only given rise to a surfeit of nurseries but has also resulted in an increase in roadside markets. Changing lifestyles are also helping to grow the market.
Peggy explains that Garden Land is a diversified enterprise that seeks to satisfy the market for both ornamental and culinary plants. Increasingly, customers also express an interest in both fruit and shade trees. Everywhere, there are ferns, ivies and palms. They are popular, attractive and good sellers. Pots of tiny dwarf buttercups lie on the floor and a magnificent purple orchid hangs from the centre of the room, a compelling distraction from the discourse with the Chin sisters.
Peggy has studied both business and horticulture and her proficiency with applying the latter skill to decorative pursuits has added another dimension to Garden Land. Years earlier the sisters had visited the United Kingdom as part of their education where they had frequented London’s internationally renowned Kew Gardens.
Despite their travels the Chin sisters thrive on their reputation for locally cultivated plants though they concede that there is a growing market for imports.
Peggy believes that part of the reason for the growth in the plant market has to do with the way in which plants impact on people. “Sometimes we get calls from people who just want to come and sit among our plants,” she says. “After a while they feel better.”
