1.8 million blooms to welcome visitors
Nawshaba Iqbal
Srinagar, Mar 10: Asia’s largest tulip garden here will open to visitors on March 16, with around 1.8 million tulips across 70 varieties expected to bloom during the annual flower show.
Click here to watch video
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, located at the foothills of the Zabarwan range overlooking Dal Lake, attracts thousands of visitors locally as well as from across the country each year during the blooming period.
The opening marks the beginning of the spring tourism season in Kashmir.
Officials said the garden is usually opened when about 10 to 15 percent of the tulips begin to bloom so that visitors can witness the flowering phase over a longer period.
Assistant Floriculture Officer Imran Ahmad told Excelsior that around eight to ten varieties of tulips have already started blooming in the early stage.
“By the time the garden opens, we expect the bloom to improve further,” he said.
He said most of the tulip bulbs used in the garden are imported from Holland as there is no local production of tulips in the region.
“Every year we import fresh bulbs, and after the first season some of them are harvested and reused for the second year,” Ahmad said.
He said the garden will showcase 70 varieties of tulips this year, the highest number ever displayed at the garden.
Besides tulips, other flowering plants including daffodils and muscari have also been planted, while around 17 varieties of annual hybrid flowers have been added to enhance the floral display.
Ahmad said weather conditions have influenced the blooming pattern this year as winter remained relatively warm and Srinagar recorded very little snowfall.
“Due to the warmer conditions, blooming has started around a week to ten days earlier than usual,” he said.
It is to be noted here that the tulip blooming period generally lasts around 15 to 20 days, depending on weather conditions.
“Tulips are delicate flowers. If the weather remains slightly cool with cloudy skies or light rainfall, the flowering period can extend,” Ahmad said.
He said the highest footfall recorded at the garden so far was around 8.5 lakh visitors and expressed hope that the number of visitors will remain high this season as well.
Officials said tourism associated with the tulip garden supports several sectors including hotels, transport services and other local businesses.
To facilitate visitors, an online ticketing system has been introduced to allow advance booking and reduce queues at the entry gate.
“A QR code will be generated which will be scanned at the gate,” Ahmad said.
He added that facilities such as drinking water points, washrooms and wheelchairs for elderly and differently-abled visitors have also been arranged inside the garden.
The post Asia’s largest tulip garden to open on March 16 appeared first on Daily Excelsior.