Nature at its glorious best

Lalbagh is in full bloom once again. It’s time to celebrate all those who’ve toiled hard at the The Nurserymen Co-operative Society for the last fifty odd years. 

The Society in conjunction with the Department of Horticulture and Department of Co-operation is hosting a three-day (October 10 to 12) nursery ‘mela’ to celebrate their glorious existence.

The nursery was conceived in 1964. It was the vision of MH Marigowda, who worked to popularise the concept of a nursery. The ‘mela’ is unlike the regular flower show held at Lalbagh every year and promises to be different, assure the organisers. It will have more than 100 varieties of flowers on display, in addition to a host of ornamental, medicinal and some rare potted plants that have been brought in from Mumbai. 

It will have a few imported plants as well. Talking about what one can expect at the ‘mela’, Govinda, vice-president of the The Nurserymen Co-operative Society, says, “It’s not the regular flower show. There will be a model of a structure in Hampi, which has been replicated at an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh. It will be decorated with 50 ornamental flowers.” 

This is main attraction of the ‘mela’. R Prashanth, secretary of the Society says that about 40 artisans from across the State, have worked on the humongous structure for close to a month. 

“The structure is made from plaster of Paris and we have used thermocol as well. This is our way of paying a tribute to the heritage monument that has stood the test of time,” he shares. Prashanth shares that there will be 10,000 potted plants.

 “Some of the rare plants to watch out for are staghorn ferns which are more than 45 years old and are among the strongest of plants. There will be Banksia and Persian plants. The flowering plants such as aglaonemas and dieffenbachia have been brought in from Northern part of the country just for this ‘mela’,” he states.   TP Venkatesh, chairman of the organising committee of the ‘mela’, has been active with The Nurserymen Co-operative Society from his childhood. 

“There is really no plant that I am not familiar with. The mela is proof of how hard we’ve worked to propagate the nursery culture in the City. We have the choicest variety of roses, orchids and other flowers on show. The entry to the ‘mela’ is free because we want more people to come and experience the rare show,” explains Venkatesh.  The regulars to Lalbagh can’t wait for the ‘mela’ to begin. Lalitha Krishnan, a homemaker, says that she regularly visits a couple of nurseries in the City. 

“I love gardening and have managed to collect some rare plants. With this event, I don’t have to go looking for these plants. I can find them all here,” she feels. Ankitha, a professional, thinks at a time when the City is turning into a concrete jungle, ‘melas’ like this inspire people to take to planting more trees. “We need them to give people an idea of the potted plants available and tell them that it is not hard to start and maintain a garden,” she sums up.