When others were busy celebrating Holi on Thursday, 75-year-old Prabhat Kumar was happily admiring colourful flowers and butterflies in his garden.

A resident of Ashok Nagar, Kumar has been a keen gardener ever since he retired as the chief general manager from Coal India 15 years ago.

“After my retirement I devoted myself completely in gardening and taking pictures of butterflies and several unknown species,” said Kumar, who lives with his wife and son.

Pointing to a white yucca gloriosa plant at his 1,000sqm garden, Kumar said, “It is also known as Spanish dagger and is a native of south-eastern United States. The plant was gifted to me by a friend almost 30 years back. It initially died when it bore flowers a decade back. The new plant grew back from its roots and now stands at 7ft height. They are in full bloom and shine on a full moon night,” said Kumar.

From pink lily to geranium, bougainville, dog plants, azalea, lilies, lotuses and cacti, Kumar’s garden boasts of over 300 different species of flowering plants.

Besides being a gardener, Kumar is also an avid photographer and loves to capture nature in his Nikon D7100. “I wake up around 5am everyday and sit in my garden with my camera for a couple of hours. I have captured over 175 different species of butterflies in my camera,” he said, pointing towards a blue mormon, which is apparently the second largest butterfly found in the state.

Kumar had submitted the photographs of the butterflies with the necessary details to Jharkhand Biodiversity Board and they had in turn published two books with his pictures titled Winged Beauty and Butterflies of Jharkhand in 2012 and 2016, respectively.

“I try to take pictures of any rare species that come my way, like recently I saw a white squirrel in my garden,” he further said.

Former principal chief conservator of forests B.D. Bhagat, who had once paid a visit to Kumar’s garden, said, “Such plants would earlier be seen in sprawling bungalows and church compounds but nowadays not many have the space, time and patience to nurture these plants. I really appreciate his efforts.”