Green masterpieces

Jessie Cardozo from Candolim has been artistically arranging succulents into small pieces of art which are ideal for gifting or enhancing the aesthetics of one’s personal space

KALYANI JHA | NT BUZZ

It began with just a simple love for plants. Having inherited a love for gardening from her parents, Jessie Cardozo became interested in the world of cacti and succulents during the pandemic.

“I took inspiration from Youtube and Pinterest and tried growing a variety of succulents,” she shares.

With time, she found herself with a considerable collection of plants and thus decided to begin to sell these.

“I started keeping a few potted plants at our café and bakery (Simonia’s) in Porvorim and Candolim. As I received a good response, I was encouraged to turn my hobby into a business,” says Cardozo.

Today, under the name Root Value, she continues to sell these succulents from these bakeries which she arranges artistically with miniatures and figurines.

These unique arrangements are ideal for decorating spaces, gifting and just owning a personal small piece of live nature.

“Mostly I use fairy cactus, barrel cactus, hawortia’s, and bunny cactus, as these cacti are easy to multiply. For succulent varieties, I use echeverias, mammillaria and sedum as these are easy to propagate and also add colour to the arrangements. I also use trailing succulents like tangled hearts and burro tail to add beauty as it spreads out the arrangements,” she shares.

She orders the plants online from nurseries and also buys from local nurseries. “Mostly I propagate from the ‘mother plant’. Plants take about three-four months to grow to be able to be potted and used in a tray garden. Once they are well rooted I need about a day or two to complete five to six pieces,” she says.  

Her figurines and miniatures are sometimes ordered online but she also makes these with clay when customised orders demand specific pieces.

Indeed, Cardozo receives many requests for customised arrangements as well as for takeaway/favours. “Nowadays, people are more into plants and mostly prefer indoor plants which are decorative and require less care. Since space also is an issue, tray gardens are preferred for being compact and yet decorative, adding to the aesthetic beauty of the space,” says Cardozo.

But she emphasises that dealing with plants requires a lot of patience as plants grow in their own time and the process cannot be hurried. “Many people think that cacti and succulents cannot survive in Goan climatic conditions but by using the proper soil mix, giving them the right amount of sunlight and avoiding over watering, the plants can grow and thrive,” she says, adding that being around plants is also very therapeutic.

“Having a garden or growing plants teaches one a lot about patience and gives utmost satisfaction and joy,” she says.

Besides cacti and succulents, Cardozo also grows and sells other varieties of plants. Going forward, she would like to focus more on begonias along with her tray gardens.