Flower Show at the Lalbagh Park

You may wonder why there is a flower "arrangement" of the space shuttle but remember one of the recent astronauts was Sunita Williams, an Indian-American who was feted here for her accomplishment of being the first Indian-American in space.

Candle Tree in Lalbagh Garden

Back to Lalbagh Gardens again. I've never seen a tree like this. Its called a candle tree. The flowers grow right out of the bark. Note the long green pod on the last picture. I was wishing there were some that were on the ground so I could see what the seeds of the tree looked like.

Playing at Lalbagh Gardens

The first two pictures show kids playing soccer (football) in a field that has not been mowed. I have seen no public soccer fields laid out for kids to use. I watched these kids kick the ball through the tall grass. The length of grass can be gauged by looking at their feet. It is hard to kick a ball smoothly and accurately under these conditions. But you don't miss what you never had.




There is not a lot of public money available for park amenities. Here kids make do with the natural slipperiness of this 3 billion year old rock formation. They were having as much fun as kids on a playground slide in the U.S.

More from Lalbagh Gardens

The ficus Mysore..a fig tree, also called a Mulberry tree









The Orchid tree, also known as a Bauhinia tree. The leaves have medicinal value

Bangalorewalks.com

This is our guide, Mr. Vijay Thiruvady. He started Bangalorewalks.com He is a very knowledgeable guide; giving us a background in Indian history and all the flora we viewed on our tour. The Lalbagh Gardens are the most biodiverse in the world. Rulers from the past, like Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan had their armies and ambassadors bring back plantings and seeds from the areas around the world. The British modified the gardens to look like England. In 1881, the Mysore Maharajah expanded the gardens, and had serial blossoming trees planted throughout the city. Once a Royal Garden, Lalbagh now belongs to the public.

This is a cedar tree from Lebanon. Bougainvilleas from South America
Silver Oaks from Australia
Indonesian Ficus tree