A2z Flowers

Our place is on the first floor of the Srinivasa Krupa building in Nagarbavi 2nd Stage. Being on the first floor means we are constantly carrying bundles of flowers up and down those stairs. It's a workout, especially early in the morning when the fresh deliveries arrive from the market. The shop smells like wet stems and crushed petals most of the time. We have buckets lined up against the walls, filled with whatever is in season. It's a bit of a damp environment because of all the water we use to keep things fresh. We don't have fancy displays, just simple plastic buckets and a few wooden tables where we trim the leaves and tie the bunches together with string. Sometimes the floor gets a bit slippery from the water, so we have to be careful. My hands are usually stained green or brown by lunchtime. We don't really have a set schedule for when things get busy; it just happens. One minute it's quiet, and the next we are surrounded by stems and thorns. We try to keep the waste in the big bin out back, but there’s always a few leaves on the floor. It’s a messy business, flowers, but it’s what we do here in Block III. We just keep the water fresh and the scissors sharp and get through the day one bunch at a time. The delivery truck usually blocks the narrow driveway for a bit, which annoys the neighbors.