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Nyore Madzianike Senior Lifestyle Writer
GROWING up in Mt Darwin, he dreamed of following the lights to the capital with hopes of finding a formal job high.

He stayed in various suburbs in Harare before finding a job at a floral shop in Avondale where he had a short stint. He moved to another employer dealing in the same trade in Newlands.

He moved yet again, this time to the city centre of the capital where he also worked at a florist’s, before deciding to be his own employer.

His name is Plaud Nzarachirombo.

Indeed, hunger is a marauding beast, as Nzarachirombo soon realised that starting and operating a profitable floral shop was not all about smelling roses and orchids, but he was determined to fight on.

As with many retail businesses, technology has changed the way people buy flowers. The margins can be thin on some orders, and inventory management can be difficult because flowers are perishable.

Operating a floral business requires basic knowledge of plant care, including flower types and their individual characters. Florists are known for earning a great deal of their income on major calendar days when people show appreciation to their loved ones.

But for over decades, florists have not only sustained their businesses through occasions like Valentine’s Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day or birthdays, but they also thrive on death, sorrow and disaster.

There are so many flower retail shops across the capital, selling different types, but it is the Africa Unity Square that has become the garden for all types of “blossoms”.

For decades now, Africa Unity Square has been a one-stop-shop for different flowers that cater for all situations; love, sickness, sorrow and death.

But for Nzarachirombo of Tynwald, Harare, selling flowers has seen him keeping hunger at bay, since he ventured into the business in 1986.

“I have survived on selling flowers and it is the job that I have always known,” he reflected.

“This is the source of my family’s livelihood.

“I have experienced a lot of things since I started this business, and I have seen places out of selling flowers. It is sad that the current economic situation has eroded a chunk of our earnings, since very few people are now spending on flowers.

“We used to enjoy brisk business from selling flowers as many people were buying from us. This is like any other business, which also has its own challenges, but we have survived all the turbulences to be where we are today,” he revealed.

Nzarachirombo said he has been to South Africa and Ghana with his business before returning home.

“I have worked for various shops here in Zimbabwe before I moved to Durban, South Africa, where I was selling flowers at a shop called Tees. I stayed there for a while before moving to Accra, Ghana. I worked in Accra, selling flowers for quite some time.

“I then returned home and continued with the business of selling flowers.

“Upon my return we used to enjoy big earnings from sales and it was not so long before they started dwindling. But, I cannot complain very much as I am managing to sustain my family from this business,” he said.

Nzarachirombo said although business was low, he would not spend days without pocketing money from people who buy flowers for graves, hospital visits, weddings and other occasions.

“There are some who come every Monday for office flowers, and this is a niche that guarantees us some takings. These people usually want the flowers to be changed once they get bad. But we also sell flowers for graveyards, weddings and hospital visits.

“It is now rare that a day passes without seeing people requesting flowers for burials; and mostly towards weekends people will come seeking flowers for weddings.

“There are also people who walk in and buy small flowers for their loved ones. They pay as little as a dollar for a single rose,” he said.

The veteran florist said sometimes they will be left counting loses, due to the cost of transporting flowers from farms around the country and wilting as flowers are perishable.

He also bemoaned the decreasing number of people growing flowers in the country.

“We have since resorted to imported artificial flowers from China and other countries. This is because we might not get enough flowers from farms or the ones we will be having go bad, since they are perishable.

“The number of growers is also going down in the country, and it is affecting our business,” he said.

Flower production in the country has been reportedly contributing to the national income with Zimbabwe at one point being ranked the second largest exporter after Kenya.

Globally floriculture is a multi-billion industry with European countries regarded as the highest consumers.