Lalbagh gets news varieties of flora

Added charm
Deccan Herald

Lalbagh Botanical Garden is all spruced up with the expected arrival of 100 new varieties of trees and plants.

There’s an air of excitement in the Lalbagh Botanical Garden. The carpet of green under a canopy of trees, the Glass House, the band stand, the bonsai garden, the chirping of the birds, the cool waters of the lake (when it’s not dry)... it seems as if the entire place is abuzz with the news of some new arrivals.

Speaking to Metrolife, deputy director of horticulture, Lalbagh, Dr Jagdish said, “Lalbagh is next only to the world famous Kew Gardens in the UK, the biggest botanical garden in the world. Amidst the 240 acres of Lalbagh, we have 1,800 species of flora, including plants, shrubs and trees. Of these about 900 have been introduced from outside India. And we have plans to increase the collection here.”

Among the oldest survivors in the garden are the 300-year-old silk cotton tree (cibapentandra) and a 250-year-old mango tree that found its way into Lalbagh during Tipu Sultan’s reign. There are other trees which are several years old, which add an old-worldly charm with their stately presence. But the newcomers are generating interest. At present, Lalbagh boasts of some 600 flowering plant species.

“This year, we will be introducing 100 new species of flowering, ornamental, fruit bearing trees, apart from some medicinal and scented varieties,” Dr Jagdish said.

Exotic orchids

The list includes the exotic orchids, which will be housed in a separate orchidarium in the middle of the lake. Work on the orchidarium will begin this year and will take about two years to complete. The Anthurium House, which has 5,000 plants belonging to some 25 varieties, will hopefully have 50 varieties by close of 2006. Lalbagh will also see the introduction of some 50 varieties of palms in the ornamental palm groove to come up later and a possible hibiscus garden next to the rose garden, which itself has a mindboggling 1,800 varieties of roses, of which 600 were added last year.

Additions

Expansion plans are underway for the Cactii House, which will see some additions to the existing 200 varieties. The Bonsai Park will be upgraded next year. Horticulture Director, Lalbagh, Dr G K Vasanth Kumar, said, “Bonsai Srinivas was kind enough to donate a major part of his collection to us, but they need infrastructure and time to settle into an open environment. We are in the process of creating that infrastructure.”

Upgradation work couldn’t be taken up last year as the BDA was entrusted with the responsibility of renovating Lalbagh. “This year, however, we have several plans, including improving the existing Dhanvantri Vana near West Gate and taking up work on the proposed Food Court. The eatery has to be an eco-friendly one, perhaps bamboo oriented or a pre-fabricated structure which can be maintained easily.”

Organic theme

Another interesting plan on anvil is the theme for the forthcoming Independence Day flower show. “We are planning to have an organic theme this year.

“Ultimately, pesticides and plastics only contaminate water which is used for plants, thereby affecting their growth. So we want to tell people that beautiful plants can be grown organically without pesticide,” Dr Vasanth Kumar noted.