Curious visitors thronged the ‘Pots n More’ outlet at the two-day Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) Flower Festival 2017. The event was held at Leisure Valley here on Sunday afternoon.
In between answering visitor queries, 55-year-old Ram Naryan Gir said: “Unlike a few years ago, more and more people are growing plants at home. Due to an increase in pollution in the National Capital Region, people prefer to grow air-purifying plants.”
Popular choices
Mr. Gir, who has been participating in the festival for two years, said some of the most popular air-purifying plants were sansevieria , areca palm , Boston fern and spider plant .
Besides these, roses, marigolds, daisies and lilies and a large variety of bonsai plants with prices ranging from ₹500 to ₹25,000, were other major attraction at the show.
Bonsai plants
Major Singh, who was at the show for the first time, said there was an increasing awareness in NCR about the bonsai plants. “There are so many varieties of Chinese and Indian bonsai plants on display here. Awareness about these plants has grown over the past decade,” he said.
Medicinal and vastu plants at Chhaju Ram Nursery outlet were a big hit as well. Ashok Kumar, who was manning the outlet, said he’s been participating in the festival for the past three years and that people have been showing greater interest in these plants.
However, he regretted that there were fewer stalls this year as the event coincided with a marathon. Besides this, he also felt the parking space was also inadequate. “There were 70-odd stalls last year. However, only 35 could be accommodated this time,” he said.
Fun family outing
The families coming to the show from far-off areas had a fun time, thanks to a wide variety of street food stalls and ice-cream vendors.
Rakesh Goyal, who was accompanied with his wife and children, said he’s been coming to the festival for the past four years. “The flower outlets, food stalls and cultural programmes make it the perfect place for a family outing,” said Mr. Goyal.
The show was inaugurated by Haryana Public Works (Buildings and Roads) Minister Narbir Singh on Saturday.
