As part of the Independence Day flower show, Lalbagh is set to unveil a sunken garden that will be home to nearly 500 species of aquatic and marsh plants.
The garden will be 10 feet below the ground and will display rare plants such as the giant water lily found in the Amazon forest, water palms, water hyacinth, water lilies and cyperus rotundus, a species of sedge native to Africa, Europe and southern Asia.
There are also plans to create a mini waterfall in the garden by the end of the year. Lalbagh officials have discussed the project with waterfall experts, landscape architects and engineers, and estimate that it will cost ₹2 crore.
Call it aesthetic inclusions or environment-friendly initiatives, but Lalbagh certainly looks to be going for value addition in green. The Horticulture Department has taken up work on a 2.5-acre sunken garden and a mini-waterfall stretching to 100 feet in the 240-acre garden.
“It’s a gift to Bengaluru from Lalbagh. Sunken gardens are not just tourist attractions, but are also spaces for conducting educational tours. Lalbagh’s sunken garden too will bring in a canopy of nearly 500 species of aquatic and marshy area plants with some of the oldest tropical plants sourced from the Victoria Botanical Gardens in Kolkata,” said P.C. Ray, commissioner, Department of Horticulture.
While the sunken garden will be ready for the Independence Day flower show, the mini-waterfall is expected to be ready by the end of the year. Almost 60% of the work on the sunken garden has been completed, said M. Jagadeesh, joint director, Horticulture, Parks and Gardens.
Most of the rainwater in Lalbagh flows towards this marshy area of 2.5 acres from three directions. “After several discussions on making using of the marshy land with ‘something spectacular’, we decided on [creating] a sunken garden, 10 feet below the ground, at a cost of ₹70 lakh. Hundreds of pouches are being created for the plants. They will be connected with approach roads and meandering paths. Colourful trees and plants will be there on various levels,” Mr. Jagadeesh said. Lalbagh has dedicated areas for cacti, bonsai, hibiscus and botanical varieties. “The sunken garden will add to these varieties,” he said.
Some of the water specials will be the giant lilly found in the Amazon forest, with leaves seven feet high, water palm, different species of lotus sourced from across the country, water hyacinth, nympheas water lilies, and cyperus rotundus, a species of sedge native to Africa, Europe and southern Asia. From botanicals, acorus calamus, a traditional medicinal plant, and grasses distinctive of wetlands such as common reed and water couch will be included, said Mr. Jagadeesh. This would be in addition to Lalbagh’s green collection from the days of Hyder Ali, which runs to nearly 900 genera and 2,500 plant species.
Bringing variety
Lalbagh’s two lakes — the bigger one spread over 30 acres — are divided by a small ridge on which people can walk. Behind these lakes is a naturally placed stone quarry that is 25 feet high and 100 feet wide. “We wanted to beautify the lakes and use the stone wall. Our plan is to use 250 HP of water from the big lake and divert it to the massive rock by creating a huge (hidden) water tank. The span of 100 feet, with an assortment of stone surfaces with aesthetic crevices, will bring in a teasing variety to the natural flow of water,” Mr. Jagadeesh said.
The horticulture team, which has had discussions with artificial waterfall experts, landscape architects and engineers, said the water splashes bring in more aeration while absorbing dust particles. As this will increase humidity, the temperature will also be reduced by 2C in the surrounding area. “This will be worth the almost ₹2 crore earmarked for the project,” Mr. Jagadeesh added.
