Nobody really knows when people started giving roses as an expression of love. But its universal, and every day there are millions of people around the world buying roses as a gift for someone special. Trust someone with a nose for making money to turn it into a lucrative business. With the need for people to give flowers on many different occasions, it was only natural for someone to provide them—at a cost of course. Thus was born the cut-flower business. However, it is a recent development in Kathmandu, but a flourishing one at that. Kamaladi has a host of flower shops and there are quite a few in Tripureshwar as well as Lazimpat.
Roses, carnations, gladiolas, lilies, you name it. In the summer one can even buy orchids from Thailand. Many flower also come from India. Kathmandu with its housing boom has insufficient land for mass-producing flowers. Hence, most flowers come from outside the valley. Om Nursery of Kamaladi gets cut flowers from Naubise and their most expensive ones are lilies. According to their salesmen, “The biggest demand is during the wedding season”. Then there are birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day and they are also widely used these days for funerals. There’s no doubt, this business is here to stay.
For details: The Everest Flower Decoration: 2002689, Women in Floriculture: 4252265, Malini Flower Decoraters: 4261788, Pushapakunja Flower Decoration: 4257917
