Bloom Bounty

Surely, mums is the word. A rose is a rose is a rose, but these beauties are still the ruling queens. In full bloom at the Chrysanthemum Show organized by Municipal Corporation Chandigarh in the Sector 33 Terrace Garden, mums throw a rainbow of colour.

Surely, mums is the word. A rose is a rose is a rose, but these beauties are still the ruling queens. In full bloom at the Chrysanthemum Show organized by Municipal Corporation Chandigarh in the Sector 33 Terrace Garden, mums throw a rainbow of colour. And amidst rows and columns of multi-coloured collages, mind-boggling varieties and breathtaking paintings, stand the proud winners of these babies.

“It’s just the right platform for anyone who is in love with flowers and wants to share his collection with others,” says one of the organisers MC’s executive engineer Arun Kansal adding that various quiz competitions, flower arrangement contests et al are also organised and judged by experts. The show plays a host to about 250 varieties of mums, and this year, the 22nd, has added ten new varieties.

Move to the winner of ‘Queen of the Show’ Virender Sharma, who has also bagged 16 prizes including the best flower and he is as bright as his flowers. “I’ve been participating in this competition for the last 14 years, and win almost every year!” he smiles, clearly crazy about flowers, and always one the move and hunt for new ones. “I have arranged samples from countries like England and Japan,” Sharma shows off his collection as a onlooker, Ivneet Singh shares, “I am fond of gardening, so I come here every year…these flowers ease my mind and heart and make me feel good.” While visitors breathe in the fresh air and bask in the sun, a cultural show takes place and more winners are announced, including individuals, government/semi-government institutions like Chandigarh Housing Board, PGI Chandigarh, Punjab Warehousing Corporation etc and various private institutions.

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Treated with utmost care, mums take a whole year to reach the peak of their glory. It’s a tedious, painstaking job, say the winners, taking care, tending to the flowers, watching their growth and keeping them safe from weather changes. “We start with the cutting procedure of left over flowers in the month of May and cultivate before July. We have displayed two varieties and won the prizes for both,” says Ram Awadh, gardener, Chandigarh Housing Board. Meanwhile, principal of The Gurukul, Sector 20, Panchkula, Harshimran Kaur is a very happy person. Not only do her students shine in the cultural programme, her flowers are always show stealers,. “We’ve been participating for years now for this something close to me, and I take this opportunity to say it wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of my gardeners, horticulturists and students.”

And as another winner, CITCO’s Arvind Malhotra sums up, “Why should rose hog all the limelight? This show reinstates the fact that Chandigarh is a flora-rich city and has plenty to show off in the name of other varieties of flowers and this time of the year, it’s the chrysanthemum.” Right!