It is believed that exposure to green spaces helps lower stress, reduces fatigue, and improves mood—something that the staff at Green Beard Nurseries Ltd witness daily. For although the vicinity in which the plant shop is located is somewhat of a busy shopping hub, those who enter Green Beard can find solace in the greenery and pops of colour of the many rare ornamental plants and fruit trees beckoning to be taken home—from peace and calla lilies, to orchids, succulents and bromeliads, as well as a number of grafted citrus, mangoes and others.
“When we started in 2019, we realised that there was a need for a lot of rare tropicals…There is a huge appetite for plants in Trinidad and there are at least six different societies; non-profits that are dedicated to plants, ranging from orchids to the regular garden societies. And a lot of these people tend to travel for the shows internationally, and then they bring back little specimens, which the average person didn’t have access to,” the shop’s manager Dion Baboolal told WE Life & Culture.
He explained that Green Beard was founded on the principle that anyone who wanted should be able to access these types of plants and made it a goal to source and sell them. Its staff is big on customer service and community—two foundational elements on which the shop was built from inception. And even then, it still wants to give more to the community in which it has settled.
“We would also love to expand into landscaping and into more education. We are planning a few evenings sessions teaching people how to propagate and teaching kids how to do kitchen gardens. I mean, it’s not always about the money or the sale. Giving back to the community is just as important,” Baboolal said.
The shop was first housed in a garage on Mucurapo Road, Port-of-Spain, and was the only place that sold plants on that street at that time. And when the COVID-19 pandemic brought most of the world to a grinding halt in 2020, Green Beard quickly adapted in order to keep afloat and to continue serving its customers.
“We were only allowed to sell agricultural stuff, so we evolved and began doing seedlings, food plants, citrus trees. That’s when we realised that there were a lot of people who like doing home kitchen gardening as well.”
Coming out of COVID, it re-established itself as a more diversified shop, making its contribution to the nation’s food security while operating out of a space at the Divali Nagar site.
“We stayed there for about four years, but then space became an issue,” and the shop was relocated to Mission Road, Freeport, where it had the space to create a more peaceful, manicured environment for plant lovers. But this transition into a new community didn’t deter existing customers from making the trek to Central for their plants.
“Green Beard has maintained a ceremonious following of customers because of the solid foundation of customer service as well as the community spirit we have built over the years.”
The shop also supplies several local smaller shops with plants, some of which are sourced from Central and North America, as well as Thailand and the Netherlands.
“But we try to buy as much locally as possible. So for instance, all our fruits, vegetables and most of our landscaping plants are from local suppliers. It’s just the rare items that can’t be propagated or that isn’t available for propagation locally that we buy.”
And because customers generally ask for grafted fruit plants, that is mainly what the shop stocks.
“We have about 40 different types of grafted citrus and a lot of other fruits…and we have a new mango on the market – apple mango. It’s almost like a long-time Julie mango with a nice green and pink face, but it has an apple flavour.”
He believes plants are an investment in a relaxation tool that pays off once you take care of them.
“When you come to our plant shop, you get the advice, the care you want, and the after-sales service…We don’t only sell the plant really, but we sell the experience. We help you to become good parents.”
