Nilgiris’ Horticulture Department gears up for Chennai flower show

Nilgiris: Preparations are in full swing at Nilgiris for the Chennai flower show expected to be held in February 2025. The event will take place in the horticulture-owned gardens across the district. Officials of the horticulture department are working round the clock to stage the event successfully. The department in Nilgiris is set to send above five lakh flowers from the district that were produced at Katteri Horticulture Park, Coonoor Sims Park, Ooty Government Botanical Garden, Horticulture Farm at Nanjanad, and Government Rose Garden.

The officials of such gardens started flower farming in August this year, and it is likely that the flowers will fully bloom by December; after that they will be transported to Chennai for the flower show. “We sent 1.25 lakh flowers for last year’s flower show in Chennai. However, this year we will send 6.18 lakh flowers, including more than 35 varieties of dwarf salvia, daisy delphinium, daffodil, pansy, lupin, and so on.

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We had got the instruction to produce a massive amount of flowers due to the ideal climate in Ooty and the care provided by the horticulture department staff round the clock,” said a senior official of the horticulture department. The official added they have also received imported daffodil flower seed from a Delhi-based private company and cultivated it here.

According to sources, the horticulture departments of the Nilgiris, Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Coimbatore, Salem, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri districts are ready to transport flowers to the Chennai show. It is expected that more than 30 lakh flowers will be exhibited at the show. The event will definitely increase the interest of the people in the floriculture sector, because flower farming has been a flourishing business at the moment. A huge number of farmers have adopted flower businesses, leaving behind traditional farming.