The flower show

On the way to the glass house: A green welcome

Getting it right in pots 

Vegetables and flowers grown in pots 

Chilly and mint

A floral welcome to the Glass House

Dancing on the lawns  

The cascading flowers

A circle of flowers

National flag

Roses all the way

The floral mixture

I can be circular too

Flowers too can make boats

A thing of beauty is joy forever

The pyramid of flowers

Every year on Independence Day and Republic day, Lalbagh comes alive florally. This is not to say that during other times of the year the beautiful botanical garden is barren.

It is during these two events that flower shows are held and they attract lakhs of visitors both from India and all over the world.

The event is organised jointly by the Department of Horticulture which looks after Lalbagh, Cubbon Park and other parks and  the Mysore Horticulture Society.

Tthe main theme for the flower shows changes for every show and they form the centre of attraction. This year, the floral boat was the main attraction apart from the Ikebana, Indian floral art, Bonsai and vegetable carving competitions.

The floral boat was thirty five foot long  and it was at the centre of the Glass House where the event is held. The boat was made of two lakh roses of different colors.  It took 35 workers several hours to create it.

A vertical garden with more than 5,000 plants was on display at the beautifully landscaped lawns. This painstakingly created garden measured 40 feet in length and 17 feet in height.

The other major attractions include a 13-foot floral boat, floral pots, demonstration of roof garden concept and Bonsai plants. The flower show also showcased hundreds of orchids, zinnia, nastardium, crysantamums, daisies, marigold, cacti, fuchsia, jasmine, geranium single roses, dahlias and several other species.

The show opened on August 7 and concluded on August 15. This was the 198^th flower show.

Apart from the stalls selling a variety of products such as  wooden toys, jute bags, toolkits for gardening, plant seeds and books, a large collection of bottled grape wine  prepared by the Karnataka Wine Board was also on display. As many as 14 wine brands were be on display till August 15 but they were not for sale.

This year drew huge crowds and there was no place for parking inside Lalbagh. Instead, the police had designated several areas and roads around the garden for parking.

As can be expected, the crowds littered Lalbagh, leaving behind plastic, cups, containers, filth and rubbish. The geological rock bore the brunt of Bangalorean’s insensitivity as the many eatable stalls there did roaring business. Yet, none of them had the sense to clean up the area and it was left to the Horticulture Department to clean it up.