Islands of beauty

they were all there to meet us: the orange hericosia, the deco rose loofa, the celosia and many others. no, these were not strange people from strange lands but rows and rows of many beautiful families of flowers — 500 or more to be precise. they were dressed up on long tables, in large arrangements, as if silently beckoning to the unwary visitor to come and take a closer look at them.the fourth annual flower show was held from november 1 to 3 at the public gardens, organised by the department of horticulture. potted flowering plants like the orange, white, red, maroon and green antheuriums, the pink and magenta ornamental ginger with their large dark green leaves and the manycoloured gladioli which spread their quiet elegance, sometimes overshadowing the flecked tiger lilies, the vibrant marigold, purple asters and orange gerberas too. but sitting prettily with the rest of their family were the dainty but aristocratic queen elizabeth white roses, heads tilted high, proudly displaying their lineage. elsewhere, coloured roses decorated small vases and cast their own spell on their not-so-pretty neighbours. these flowers have been grown in many parts of andhra pradesh while some have come all the way from neighbouring karnataka and tamil nadu - white and pink shaded orchids, bright yellow chrysanthemums and more. the walls were displayed, for the first time in four years, with dry wood arrangements. also part of the flower show was an exhibition of the hyderabad chapter of the ohara school of ikebana. elegant displays include those of the basic hana-isho style and those of the advanced hana-isho style of ikebana. these are fresh flower arrangements in shallow trays, each one a perfect island of beauty. the rimpa a r r a n g e m e n t s , though, added a little water to its ethereal beauty. the third part of this exhibition is perhaps where the eyes lingered longest in admiration: the bonsai section. adorning the tables here were mangala rao's labour of love for 14 years, a largeish banyan tree and another buddha bamboo, a typical 10-year-old, which looked as if it were a small slice of thailand. also displayed were the 15-year-old sapota tree, govind raj's 10-year-old pipal and suchita reddy's driftwood junipers prosteta, a dark green beauty, barely nine-years-old. a row of stalls at the show sold everything from fertilisers, to seeds to sprinklers to hand-embroidered greeting cards. the exquisite goan terracotta pottery here is worth a mention.