Citizens, young and old, gathered in a soothing spree, their eyes catching a kaleidoscope of colors at the 120th Monsoon Flower Show and 49th Indoor and House Plants show of the Nagpur Garden Club in collaboration with ‘The Hitavada’. It was organised at Kusumtai Wankhede Hall on Sunday. The attendees admired the greens and blushing flowers in the show, which is held annually in the memory of Kusumtai Wankhede. The show was inaugurated by Sanjay Meena, Chairman of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT). He praised the efforts of Garden Club members for conducting flower shows every year and promoting gardening among citizens.

 

Aasawari Shenolikar, Deputy Editor of ‘The Hitavada’ was also present on the occasion. Anuja Parchure, President, welcomed the chief guest. Kedar Gokhale, Chairman Flower Show Committee read out brief report of the show. Padma Deshraj conducted the proceedings and presented vote of thanks. 25 participants participated in the show and exhibited around 600 entries of variety of flowers including roses, cannas, zinnia, gladioli, gerberas, water lilies, daisy, dahlia; bonsais of banyan tree, Ficus infectoria, bougainvillea, peepal tree; medicinal plants including that of lemongrass, ginger, betel leaf, neem, basil, amla, ashwagandha; and different types of indoor plant, cactus, succulent, aquatic plant. There were also categories of Ikebana flower arrangement, vegetable basket, perennial and seasonal flowers. The highlight of the show was a large landscape made by Rekha Deshmukh, a member of Nagpur Garden Club, and her team, showcasing miniature version of typical Indian village life having huts, temple, farming field, cattles, marketplace, rural school, and surrounding it with plants, flowers and other props. Deshmukh dedicated this landscape to late Shirish Joshi, Past President of Nagpur Garden Club.

 

Rekha Deshmukh won maximum prizes. Gurpreet Singh bagged awards for King, Queen, Prince and Princess of HT Roses and King of Floribunda Roses. Prashant Telang bagged award for Samrat of Indian Variety, while Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) bagged award for Queen of Floribunda. Ashok Agrawal, Dr Sumedha Puranik, Manisha Kulkarni, Dr N V Shasri Dr Avinash Sable, Chanchal Singh Renu, Kalppana Patankar, and Rashmi Koche were the judges of flower show. Prize distribution ceremony of the show will be held on September 29, at Nagpur Garden Club office, Opposite Jawahar Vasti Gruh, Civil Lines, at 10.30 am. The members of the club Gulab Mahant, Shrikant Doifode, Aarti Rajkondawar, Atulchandra Mendhekar, Supriya Naware, Rajashree Bapat, Rashmi Kanungo, Dr Saroj Desai, Ramesh and Shanta Madnani, Prashant Telang, Sharad Paliwal worked hard for the show.