Mughal Gardens to open for public on Friday

The historic Mughal Gardens, with its lush green stretch and colourful blossoms, will be thrown open to public from Friday for the month-long annual festival christened as 'Rashtrapati Bhavan Udyanotsav'.

"Our country comprises of people from different caste, creed and religion. And, the garden which comprises various kinds of flowers, give us the message to live in harmony with each other," President Pratibha Patil told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.

Appreciating the hard work of the gardeners, she asked people to visit the gardens and witness its splendour and magnificence.

This year, the main attraction at the festival are floral carpets and a new Bonsai Garden with about 200 plants, besides a special cactus corner at the garden, located inside the grand President's Estate.

"This year we decided to try this (floral carpets) as it is both economical as well as beautiful to look at. Floral carpet design is a manifestation of imagination and skill of the gardeners. It can be used to decorate homes, offices and also functions," said Nigam Semwal, OSD Horticulture in the President's Estate.

The garden is divided into three parts - the rectangular garden, long garden and circular garden and has Mughal style canals and multilevel terraces. It is richly endowed with rare varieties of flowers including roses, lilies, tulips and double pansies.

Some of the prominent varieties of roses include 'Christian Dior', 'Queen Elizabeth', 'Iceberg', 'Pasadena', 'Montezuma', 'Summer Snow', 'First Prize', 'Century Two' and 'Amalia and Bush Rose'.

The verdant lawns, an inspiration from the Mughal gardens of Jammu and Kashmir, the garden around Taj Mahal in Agra, and Persian and Indian miniature paintings, was designed by Edwin Lutyens.

A curio shop with various Rashtrapati Bhavan souvenirs will be up for sale.

The garden will open to the general public on all days beginning February 10 to March 15, from 10 am to 5 pm. The 'Udyanotsav' will remain closed on March 8 on account of Holi and March 14, which will be reserved for differently-abled persons.