NILGIRIS: The 125th annual flower show in Ooty was inaugurated on Friday by the tourism minister K Ramachandran and Nilgiris MP A Raja. This year’s event also marks the 200th anniversary of the formation of the Nilgiris district and the 175th anniversary of the Ooty Botanical Garden. The flower show will be on till May 23.
This year’s show features 35,000 flower pots, which includes flowers like Oriental Lily, Asiatic Lily, Galangiodu, Inca Marigold, French Marigold, Blacks, Petunia, Salvia, Begonia, Sempa, Florence, Aster, Balsam and Chrysanthemum. A total of over five lakh flower plants of 325 varieties, including foreign imports have been kept on display.
The highlight of the show has a 18-feet high sculpture of peacock, which was made using over 80,000 Carnation flowers. It is accompanied by flower sculptures of Tamil Nadu state symbols like Nilgiri tahr, emerald dove, and palm tree, among others.
The 175th anniversary of the Ooty Botanical Garden and the 125th year of the Flower Show was marked using flower bushes. Nilgiris Collector SP Amrith declared a local holiday on Friday in view of the flower show. Around 500 policemen have been deployed for security.