Hailing from a family which has been intricately involved in the horticulture business; Rashmi Attavar’s affinity towards ornamental gardening comes as no surprise. But what’s indeed inspiring is her unrelenting love towards exotic flora, and the innate desire to see the trade bloom in the Garden City, resonating with the Old Bengaluru.
With her family venture, Indo American Hybrid Seeds Pvt Ltd touching its golden jubilee this November, the entrepreneur gets chatty with us — just as she preps up for ‘Grace and Beauty’ a show of exotic hybrids slated to take place on August 17.
“My earliest memories are of a small garden with hydrangeas and roses. Bengaluru was a lot cooler in the ‘70s. As a child, I was fascinated by the sheer size of the hydrangea and its colour. I remember going to dad”s workplace, which was a greenhouse and seeing plants being raised from seed. Petunias geraniums and tomatoes at those times. I remember going to school and being very proud of taking flowers grown by dad’s team. I joined the business in the ‘90s. I’ve spent time in various aspects of the business but have concentrated on the ornamental horticulture business,” reveals the 42-year-old entrepreneur, who will be showcasing gardening events.
Armed with a bachelor’s in Horticulture from the Utah State University, Logan, it seems like Rashmi harboured plans to stick to her roots, quite literally! “I’ve always loved flowers. So, I believe I’m fortunate enough to have been raised in a family that was doing something I was genuinely interested in. There was a point in time I wanted to be a floral designer. I’ve lived in Bengaluru most of the time. So in a way, I’ve been around to witness the evolution of the horticulture industry and how gardening has seen a traction in 10 years.”
Elucidating more about the show, she shares, “I’ve worked with Jaya Mani on this show to make people see the actual flowers seen in Parsi embroidery as well as Valli’s illustrations. The idea is to acquaint the city’s people to the exotic variety and the richness in terms of aestheticism, which these seeds carry.”
As the family run business hits 50 this November, she tells us how there are a series of interesting shows on the cards leading to the golden jubilee. “Yes, we’re all excited! The horticulture industry has grown leaps and bounds. Especially in the past decade there have been great advances in terms of quality of horticultural produce be it plants or fruits and veggies. We have a terrarium workshop in September and a kitchen garden workshop in October.
“Grace and Beauty” the exotic orchid show will take place at Ambara on August 17.
