NEW DELHI: In a week or so, the Connaught Place Central Park and roundabouts in central Delhi will have tulips blooming in rainbow colours, apart from hymenocallis white lilies and other seasonal flowers.
The horticulture department of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) claims to have done all preparations on ground.
An official said that tulips have already started blooming in Central Park, but due to the intense cold, it would take them another week or so to bloom fully. Tulips have been introduced in Central Park for the first time as well as other green islands or roundabouts where footfall is heavy, including Mandi House, Windsor Place, Barakhamba Road and Ferozeshah Road, said the official. “These are busy stretches and intersections and planting flowers is a challenge due to heavy footfall. At Central Park, flower beds have been prepared in the amphitheatre and hundreds of tulip bulbs have been planted. However, at places like Shanti Path and nearby roundabouts, the flowers are blooming fully already,” said the official.
The official added, “Strips of tulips have been planned along the fountain in Central park. Later, these will be replaced with seasonal flowers. To give a rainbow look to the amphitheatre, 18,000 pots of antirrhinum, dianthus, pansy, petunia, etc will be placed there.”
Similar preparations have been done at the roundabouts of Mandi House and Windsor Place. “We aimed at beautifying the avenue roads and planted hymenocallis lilies for the first time this winter. The bulbs and saplings of these flowering plants were created within our nurseries from existing plants without spending extra funds to buy them. In fact, we introduced these lilies on a 200-metre stretch on Shanti Path for the first time and from there we created the cuttings and new plants,” said NDMC horticulture director Chellaiah S.
The horticulture department would be making rectangular planters by fabrication and edging sheets for displaying blooming of plants on the 400-metre Barakhamba Road central verge. “We will plant half-bloomed salvia, petunia and marigold in the next 15 days. The central verge is just two metres wide, so we will have to be cautious about them not getting damaged by people crossing the stretch,” said the official.
