Mughal Gardens ready to roll out floral carpets

New Delhi: Floral carpets adorning immaculately manicured lawns, palette of colours and range of flowers in the sprawling Rashtrapati Bhavan — ‘Careless Love', ‘Kiss of Fire', and ‘Lady X' are here to capture the visitor's imagination at the Mughal Gardens.

The attraction of the gardens spread over six hectares is the floral carpet — reflecting months of hard work and imagination that the horticulture department of Rashtrapati Bhavan put in.

Promising over 120 varieties of roses, hybrid tulips, stalks, daisies, dahlias, pansies, and bonsai plants — the gardens will be open to the public from today until March 15.

"We have to plan the pattern for gardens months before. We try and plan the colour scheme at the time we plant seeds," said Nigam Semwal, a horticulture officer at the Mughal Gardens.

The floral gardens are a symmetrical pattern of flowers embedded on the grass in the shape of a carpet.

While the Mughal Gardens are home to the Long Garden, the Spiritual Garden, the Herbal Garden, and musical fountains, President Pratibha Patil's personal favourite is the Circular Garden that has marigolds and pansies accompanying a bubble fountain.

Symbol of unity

"Circular Garden... I come here for a walk sometimes. The variety of flowers in this garden is symbolic of the country's unity and diversity we are maintaining," Patil told reporters yesterday.

The bulbous tulips in red, yellow, and white spread over rectangular spaces are the first to catch a visitor's eye.

The tulips, in full bloom during the month of February, are planted in the month of October.

After sauntering by the tulip beds and fountains, roses and pansies delight visitors with their intriguing names and radiant hues.

Some of the attractions are ‘Mother India', ‘Lady X', ‘Iceberg', ‘First Prize', ‘Eiffel Tower', ‘Careless Love', and ‘Just Joey' among others.

Last year, the gardens were decked up with the theme of a vertical garden — the concept of developing a floral wall. Mughal Gardens see huge crowds every year.

The rectangular Mughal Gardens were designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, who laid out the architectural pattern of capital city New Delhi. They are adjacent to the main Rashtrapati Bhavan building.

"The Udyanotsav shall remain closed on every Monday, during this period on account of maintenance activities. It shall also remain closed February 15 for a programme at Rashtrapati Bhavan," a statement from Rashtapati Bhavan said.

"It shall also remain closed March 8 on [the occasion of the] Holi festival," it added.

A landscaper's dream