The Government Rose Garden earlier known as Nootrandu Roja Poonga is located in Ooty in Tamil Nadu. Situated at an altitude of 2200 meters it is the largest rose garden in India. Formerly it was also known as Centerary Rose Park and Jayalalithaa Rose Garden. The Government Rose Garden was established on the slopes of the Elk Hill in Vijayanagaram to celebrate the centenary Flower Show of the Government Botanical Gardens located in Udagamandalam. The event took place in the month of May in 1995. The Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department looks after the maintenance of the rose garden. The flowers in the park are planted on the five curved terraces that cover almost four hectares. Thousands of tourists visit the garden all through the year to have a glimpse of the rarest collection of roses.
Features of Government Rose Garden
The Government Rose Garden being located in Ooty is blessed with idyllic climatic conditions that support the growth of roses. Ooty has a tropical mountain climate and the variation in temperature is less here. There is uniformity in rainfall that helps in the growth of flowers for a longer period of time. The Government Rose Garden in its initial stage cultivated nearly 1,919 varieties of roses and had almost17,256 rose plants. With time the cultivation was increased and presently the garden grows almost 20,000 varieties of roses of 2,800 cultivars. It is said to have the largest collection of roses in the country. Some of the types of roses grown here are Ramblers, Yakimour, Miniature Roses, Papagena, Hybrid Tea Roses, Floribunda, Polyanthas and many other roses of different colours like black and green. These rare collections of roses grown here have been collected from various parts of the world. Tourists can enjoy the sight of the beautiful pergolas, rose tunnels and bowers with rose creepers that have been placed in the garden. The Nila Maadam, an observation platform has been constructed on the slopes of the garden that provides a complete view of the striking rose garden. A statue of an angel positioned in the midst of the roses further enhances the beauty of the garden.
The Government Rose Garden has been bestowed with the Garden of Excellence Award by The World Federation of Rose Societies in the year 2006 in Osaka, Japan. The award had been presented for being the best rose garden in south Asia.
