Horticulture For A Green And Beautiful Environment

Horticulturist Shiv Kumar Sharma headed the horticulture department as director in NDMC, before he retired in 2012. Sharma was also part of the design, development, and landscaping work of Delhi’s stadia and has made notable contributions in the field. Here, N Kalyani tells us about the remarkable work done by Shiv Kumar Sharma in making Delhi’s landscape more beautiful.

- N Kalyani

In springtime, a lush garden with flowers in full bloom will compel every passerby to stop and admire the beauty showered by nature. What immeasurable delight there is in watching a garden turn into a riot of colours full of freshness and fragrance! Delhi offers many visual delights during spring season. Public gardens, such as the Lodhi Gardens, Nehru Park, Talkatora Gardens, Buddha Jayanti Park, Deer Park at Hauz Khas, and Garden of Five Senses; the roundabouts at radial road intersections; the rose gardens; and the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Mughal Gardens offer citizens and visitors an opportunity to feast themselves on an immense variety of flowers. One gets to see the rose, carnation, sweet William, chrysanthemum, dahlia, stock, nasturtium, poppy, sweet peas, petunia, pansy, marigold, snapdragon, salvia, and hollyhock in their multitudinous hues and shades.

Shiv Kumar Sharma: A Horticulturist Par Excellence

And when springtime is upon us, it is to learn more about landscaping and gardening, in general, and in the context of New Delhi, in particular, that one meets up with the horticulturist, Shiv Kumar Sharma, for a chat. At Gujarat Bhawan, where Sharma is now a consultant for horticulture and landscaping, he takes time out for a one-on-one chat and shares interesting insights into gardening and his life in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), where he headed the horticulture department as director, before he retired in 2012. The rendezvous, overlooking a lush garden, also affords a view of the many bright and beautiful flowers, and trees and plants in the premises.

The public gardens and roundabouts of New Delhi are maintained by the horticulture department of the NDMC. The department is responsible for the upkeep of the public green areas which is a little more than a thousand acres.