India's biggest demo vertical garden at National Landscape Fest

India’s biggest demo vertical garden will be among the many attractive features at the five-day National Landscape Fest-2015 that starts at Lalbagh here on Thursday.

Being organised by the Department of Horticulture, the first-of-its-kind event will feature urban gardening, kitchen gardening, spiritual gardening, organic urban roof, terrace gardening, etc. The vertical garden will be erected in the Glass House.

S B Bommanahalli, Director of Horticulture, told reporters on Monday that the department expected four lakh people to visit the fest, the estimated expenditure for which was Rs 50 lakh.

The department is also organising a painting competition on ‘Landscape connects - Life’.
As many as 5,000 students from 100 government and 30 private schools are expected to take part in the event. Students of classes 7, 8 and 9 from Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur and Tumakuru districts will be part of the contest. Of these, hundred best paintings will be selected and exhibited during the fest.

In addition, landscape artists from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath will perform on-the-spot landscape paintings. More than 3,000 landscape practitioners and architects and at least 85 companies from Karnataka and other states will take part in the sale and display. An exclusive photo gallery on landscape gardening, organic urban roof, terrace gardening and spiritual gardening is also in the offing. This apart, on November 14 and 15, there will be a flower show to coincide with Children’s Day celebrations.

‘Like fashion industry’
Landscape architect Krishna Chavan, who is one of the key organisers of the fest, said landscape industry was like fashion industry.

“Balancing nature for the next generation is the main intention behind the fest. We are hosting it with a theme of highlighting the significance of water, air, soil, plant and stone,” he added.

Parking arrangement
In order to maintain law and order and regulate traffic, around 400 police personnel will be deployed during the fest. They will patrol on night, too. DCP (South) B S Lokesh Kumar stated that parking arrangements would be made at Al-Ameen College for two-wheelers and Shanthinagar bus stand, JC Road and Lalbagh Hopcoms for four-wheelers and more two-wheelers.

Tickets for the fest will be issued till 6 pm and visitors allowed inside Lalbagh till 7 pm. Ticket are priced at Rs 40 for adults and Rs 10 for children.
DH News Service