The impeccably manicured gardens of the Raj Bhawan in the Capital City are extending a floral welcome to the residents of Ranchi from February 2 to February 16 from 10 am to 3:30 pm. Amidst tight security arrangements, on the second day the sprawling gardens had as many as 4,122 flower lovers.
Spread over an area of 52 acres of land, the gardens of the Governor’s official residence are blooming with numerous varieties of seasonal plants and flowers. Visitors can enter the premises from gate number 2, located in front of the Machli Ghar with no entry charged being levied.
The garden boasts of 55 different varieties of flowers including Rosemary, Gloxinia, Iris, Cut lilium, Frijia and more than 100 types of roses. Dahila, poppy, geranium can be seen in a myriad of colours soothing the eye. The garden also has eight fountains and one musical fountain.
“With the onset of the spring season, the garden is blooming with pink magic carpet, marigolds, petinuas and pansy. The varieties of roses seen here are some which are not found anywhere else very easily. Green rose and black rose are some which are catching the attention of the revellers,” said Abdus Salam, the garden superintended, who has been serving at the Raj Bhawan for more than 30 years.
The garden also houses 36 kinds of medicinal plants like lemon grass, aloe vera, ashwagandha, camphor, bay leaf and clove among others. Apart from the indigenous and foreign varieties of plants and shrubs, the nature lovers can also see an exclusive collection of trees like ‘Rudraksha Tree’, ‘Sindoor Tree’ ‘Eucalyptus Tree’, and ‘Kaplavriksha’.
“All the flowers seen in this garden are grown without the use of any chemicals and are totally organic. On the premises mushroom and strawberry farming are also done. The entire garden is maintained using rain water harvesting,” said Nilesh Raskar, another worker at the garden.
The gardens at the Raj Bhawan are named after eminent personalities like Emperor Ashoka and Akbar, Gautam Buddha, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi among others.