THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Since April 23, the Akkulam tourist village in Thiruvananthapuram has been teeming with visitors, all eager to soak in the beauty of the adenium set up as part of the desert rose festival. These summertime plants, uncommon in Kerala, were imported from Thailand and Vietnam for the festival, which runs till May 7.
Abhilash Sasidharan, an Air Force officer, is the brainchild of the desert role festival. “I was stationed in various states as part of my work in the last 21 years. That’s when I developed an interest in gardening, which eventually turned into a passion,” Abhilash said.
Even in his busy life, Abhilash finds time not only to pursue this passion but also to cultivate an interest in gardening in others. “Abhilash can identify adenium varieties just by looking at the stem or the plant’s leaves. That’s how much he knows about the flowers. We can see how passionate he is about gardening by the way he talks about it,” said Vyshak V G, Akkulam tourist village’s manager.
Vyshak and Abhilash had already organised a bougainvillaea festival in February, which was a huge success. During that event, it was observed that there was a huge interest in adenium (desert roses). This prompted the duo to organise a festival dedicated to them. “Adeniums are low-maintenance flowers. They don’t require much water and can survive in dry and hot climates. Hence the name ‘desert roses’,” Abhilash said. These flowers are often brought to Kerala by flower enthusiasts.
“There are not many adenium flowers in nurseries here. However, at Akkulam, there’s a wide variety of them on display. These flowers are very affordable, economical, and easy to look after,” says Sujitha K S, an entrepreneur. The festival also showcases a variety of plants, including water plants and bougainvillaea.