SRINAGAR: Asia’s largest tulip garden in Srinagar, housing a flower carpet of 17 lakh tulips of 74 varieties with different colours and fragrances, will be thrown open to visitors after March 20.The tulip garden is spread over 450 kanals of land and is situated along the banks of the famous Dal lake and at the foothills of the Zabarwan mountain range.“This year the garden will have 17 lakh tulips of 74 varieties including two new ones. The tulips will provide a new and more picturesque look to the garden,” said assistant floriculture officer (AFO) Tulip Garden Asif Ahmad.Over 100 gardeners including casual labourers are busy preparing the flower carpet for over a month’s show.“It takes 11 months of hard work to prepare the garden for the month-long Tulip show. Different processes and works take place during different seasons,” said a gardener. “We work in harsh winters and summers and every flower here carries our sweat and soul.”The gardener have planted early, mid and late varieties of tulips in the garden. “We plant the tulips accordingly to keep the garden open for a month and allow visitors to see tulips of different colours and varieties in full bloom,” said the gardener.The carpet of flowers of different colours gives the feeling of paradise and the floral spectacle attracts tourists from across the country and abroad. “Tulips need low temperatures for survival. If temperature during bloom increases, then we have to irrigate the garden with care so as to not hurt the flower. We have to irrigate at night. We cannot spray water on the flowers or they will get damaged,” said a casual labourer.
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