Pune’s Empress Garden Flower Show Enchanting Vistas Of Natural Beauty

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Sharveya Parasnis

Pune, 13th January 2023: Known for its rich biodiversity and enchanting swathes of flowers, the Empress Garden has always been one of Pune’s most cherished spots for nature lovers, in no small part due to its yearly Flower Show.

A tradition that goes back more than a hundred years, the flower show has always been a much-awaited highlight for horticulturists. But for the past two years, the garden did not organise the flower show due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, however, the event will be returning after a two-year hiatus, to be held from the 25th to the 29th of January.

The Garden was built by the British Empire in 1869 and is presently managed by the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India. This trust manages the garden entirely on its own, without any financial assistance from the government. The flower show has been taking place since at least 1910 but was gradually stopped until its revival in 1998.

The flower show will feature open competitions for horticulturists with over 100 categories for fruits, flowers and plants. The entries will be judged on their size, shape, colour and other characteristics and winners decided by expert judges. Winners can receive a cash prize or a trophy.

The main attraction of the Flower Show is the beautiful landscapes created by the garden, featuring vast swathes of foliage plants and seasonal flowers. These landscapes feature at least one lakh flowers each time, but the management of the Garden hopes to have at least two lakh flowers this year. Visitors may see rare plants such as a kinai tree, also known as white shireesh (Albizia libbeck), a Kanchanvel or the maloo creeper (Phanera vahlii) and Kailaspati or the cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis). The show will also feature stalls with seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other materials necessary for agriculture for sale in one place.

According to Prashant Chavhan, the manager of Empress Garden, “The flower show is organised to create a combination of horticulture, floriculture and agriculture. People wait for this festival every year, so we are very pleased with the feedback we receive.”