'John F Kenedy', 'Queen Elizabeth', 'Eiffel Tower', 'Snapdragon'--to name just some flowers that adorns the immaculately manicured lawns at the Rashtrapati Bhawan--will be a visitor's delight when the Mughal Gardens is thrown open to the public from Saturday once a year.
President Pranab Mukherjee will declare open the 'Udyanotsav' at the bedecked 15-acre garden with umpteen rows of blooming flowers. It will continue till March 17.
The Mughal Gardens, opened to public every year this time, will have close to 5,000 Tulips imported from Holland and meticulously taken care of by a team of 150 gardeners as the main attraction.
Over 200 varieties of Roses, 250 bonsai plants, 80 varieties of cactus along with flowers like Dahlia, Calendula, Gerbera, Linaria, Larkspur, Gaznia, Verbena, Viola, Pansy Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Marigold, Salvia and many more would welcome a host of visitors.
The floral event recorded 4.8 lakh footfalls in one month in 2013.
"Tulip is a very delicate flower which is indigenous to mountainous areas with temperate climates and need a period of cool dormancy, known as verbalisation. It has to be carefully handled and requires temperature range of 5-15 degree Celisus," Officer on Special Duty (Horticulture) at the Rashtrapati U D Kukreti said during a press preview of the event.
"Unfortunately last year due to rainy weather we could not bring them to Mughal garden, but this year we have imported 5,000 tulips in colours of red, orange and yellow mixed with red and white," he said.
The Tulips imported from Holland have been blossoming at the Tulip Garden in Kashmir. The tulips for Mughal Garden have been imported with the support of horticulture department of Jammu and Kashmir as they have the official license for importing them, Kukreti said.
