With more than 35,000 potted plants in full bloom at the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam, the Horticulture department has arranged some of the plants to spread awareness among the public with a message to everyone to "stay at home."
According to officials, more than 5,000 plants, including different colors of marigolds, dianthus, salvias and verbenas, were arranged using around 50 horticulture department employees to spell out the message to residents to 'stay home and stay safe' during the COVID-19 pandemic. The arrangements were made with horticulture staff residing near to the garden, and all are being made to follow personal distancing rules.
Assistant Director of Horticulture, Nilgiris, M. Radhakrishnan, said that visitors are currently not allowed to enter the Botanical Garden or any other parks run by the horticulture department.
“We will wait to see if there is any relaxation for local residents to visit the garden after May 3, so that they can see the exhibits, or we will put up pictures of the message on social media or on government websites,” said another official from the horticulture department.
The month of May is usually one of the busiest for the horticulture department here, as lakhs of tourists visit the district to attend the summer festival, in which the fruit, vegetable, spice, rose and the flower shows are held.
Prior to the spread of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, the district administration had announced that the summer festival season would begin with the Vegetable Show in Kotagiri on May 2 and 3. However, officials confirmed that the vegetable show has been cancelled, with a decision on the rest of the summer festival still pending.
“We will have to wait till after May 3, after the completion of the lockdown to see what the government decides,” the official said.
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