BLOSSOMING BIZ. Twinkle Serrano has found a new source of income during the pandemic by selling cut flowers. Serrano has turned her hobby of flower gardening into a business as more people are currently engaged in gardening. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The coronavirus diseases 2019 (Covid19) pandemic has opened a business opportunity for Antiqueños who are engaged in flower gardening.
Twinkle Serrano used to regard flower gardening as a hobby. However, she was surprised after receiving many inquiries about it when she tried to market flowers online about two weeks ago.
In Tuesday’s interview, Serrano said she decided to sell the flowers she was cultivating in her garden so she would be able to earn some money for their family needs during this pandemic.
“When I posted the flowers, the people interested to buy it told me that we will just meet at the capitol ground,” she said.
Serrano was surprised to learn that aside from her, there were other people also selling flowers at the capitol.
“The capitol ground has become our meeting place with our customers,” she said.
At the time of the interview, Serrano was waiting for a customer who will buy her Calathea plant.
“I am selling the Calathea plant PHP50 to PHP60 per strand,” she said.
From selling a variety of plants, Serrano earns PHP1,000 a week, which she said is a big economic support for their family.
Serrano said she used a portion of her income to buy plants, which she sells to other interested buyers.
Meanwhile, a retired school teacher, Merza Nietes, said she usually spends her morning in her garden.
“Every morning, I would go to the garden to cultivate my plants because I also feel bored having nothing to do,” she said in a separate interview.
Nietes said she also goes to the capitol to look for plants that are not yet in her collection.
“I also would search online for the plants and make an order from there,” she added.
NIetes said during this time when senior citizens are being advised to limit going out of their homes, she is glad she could buy more plants to cultivate and be busy with. (PNA)
