Charmed by the blooms

floral desire Meet Pushpa Suresh and Shyamala Madappa, two women who have carved a niche for themselves in the pretty world of hibiscus flowers

As I walked into the compound, Pushpa Suresh, a classical dancer, welcomed me into her garden to introduce her beloved beauties. There stand Shiva, Wings of Fire, Divine Grace, Bob Carran and the like. These are not the names of the relatives of Pushpa. Yet, I witnessed a greater sense of bonding between them. Well, I am talking about her hibiscus plants here.

If you head down to Pushpa’s house in Talaghattapura area of Bengaluru, you will discover a tiny but magnificent world of hibiscus. You can find a great variety of these pretty posies, all blooming in their full glory, creating a unique ambience in the terrace of her home. At a stone’s throw away from Pushpa’s home, you will find another enchanting hibiscus universe in Shyamala Madappa’s home. The love for the hibiscus plants has many a stories of devotion and patience behind it.

The allure of hibiscus
Pushpa Suresh hails from the hilly terrains of Sagara city. She had a penchant for the beautiful flowers right from her childhood and the love didn’t falter even when she got married and moved to the concrete city of Bengaluru. “I got bored sitting alone at my home. It was this boredom that pushed me into growing flowering plants. Of all the flowers, hibiscus attracts me the most and is my favourite. Thus, I gave them the maximum preference in my garden. What started out as a pastime has now transformed into an important part of my life. Since the past eight years, this activity has been giving me immense joy and happiness,” reminisces Pushpa.

While digging for information about her favourite hibiscus flowers on the internet, Pushpa stumbled upon a a staggering world of hibiscus. Thanks to the vast web of information, she realised that hibiscus plants give seeds too. After that, she went on to research more about these pretty posies and started focusing on the cross-pollination and hybridisation procedures.

Inspired by the initial success, she went on to plant more. But the seeds planted in tiny little pots showed no signs of sprouting. For months, Pushpa patiently waited for them to sprout but sadly, nothing happened. Fortunately, after a long wait of three months, when she randomly glanced at her pots, she found  a surprise waiting for her. Three tiny saplings were rearing their heads out from the soil. “Looking at the seedlings finally sprout after three long months was really exciting and I can still remember the joyous feeling,” a beaming Pushpa says.

She then started to learn about a variety of things that one could do with hibiscus flowers and started her experimentations. Sharing her love for such flowers, Shyamala too joined her in her quest. Their common interest infused much more enthusiasm in the process. As a result of this, over a period of eight years, both of them have nurtured more than 8,000 hibiscus plants.

“Personally, I got to know about hibiscus seeds from Pushpa. Ever since then, I have gained an interest in this particular plant and researched more about it. On regular trips to her home, I learnt everything what I know today. We both have been working together on all the aspects to hibiscus gardening, be it hybridisation or tending to the pollen. Even the expenses are shared by us,” says Shyamala.

“Pushpa enlightens me about what it takes to grow this enormous number of plants. Of 100 seedlings planted, only 8-10 give flowers. But from the time they are planted till they start giving flowers, we nurture every seedling with great care and attention,” she adds.

Gaining international repute
When they were sourcing the internet for new information on hibiscus plants, they came across the International Hibiscus Society (IHS), an international platform for hybrid experimentations in hibiscus plants. Soon, both Pushpa and Shyamala registered themselves with the organisation and started carrying out small-time activities. Currently, Pushpa is the Indian representative for the IHS.

Participating in one of the many competitions organised by IHS, Pushpa even won an award for her ‘Bob Carran’ hibiscus flower. “I have named this flower after my friend and mentor, Bob Carran in Florida. I have learnt a lot from him and this is my way of expressing gratitude,” says Pushpa.

Both Pushpa and Shyamala have published their findings and reports in the tri-monthly publication of IHS, Hibiscus International. Many of their articles and illustrations have even made it to the front page of the publication. Till now, Pushpa and Shyamala have registered 39 and 25 new types of hibiscus flowers with the IHS, respectively. “We have nurtured
thousands of varieties of hibiscus. But have registered only the best of them,” explain Pushpa and Shyamala. Their penchant for hibiscus has also earned them friends from all over the world. They now interact with people from US, France, Italy, Bulgaria and China.

Talking about the Indian scenario, they throw light on the general negligence
people have towards this particular art. “Generating great amounts of curiosity on the international level, our hibiscus plants are given lots of importance. But here, we don’t see the same enthusiasm. Instead of entering our flowers in the international competitions, we would like to see national competitions and spread the joy of these pretty posies,” they
conclude.
(Translated by A Varsha Rao)