Flowers on display at the show in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 7: An assortment of colourful and fragrant flowers made for a pleasant outing for families here at the Flower and Vegetable Exhibition that concluded on the Adivasi Exhibition Ground hereon Monday.

The Directorate of Horticulture and Odisha Horticulture Development Society hosted the three-day exhibition.

The design of display of kiosks, competitive entries in categories of flowers and vegetables and the decorative podiums that offered visitors to click their pictures with a backdrop of different shades of gerberas, orchids and marigolds were commendable.

Flower bouquets, garlands and cut flowers were arranged in separate sections with attractive lighting system as well there were statues of female figures holding the bunch of flowers.

Yellow, violet, pink and of course the most gorgeous red roses stole everyone’s heart. Moreover, these roses were of varying sizes and kinds like huge half bloomed roses as well as smaller full bloomed type grown in flowerpots.

Liliums, gerbera, carnations and chrysanthemums arranged together in white made for a unique view. Khuntia House, a Puri based family showcased their lavish garden of potted plants that had almost every flower and ornamental plant in their ensemble.

Another section displayed kitchen garden products such as plantain bunches, papayas, cauliflower, lettuce and cabbage, radish and turnips and much more. Extremely miniature potatoes and huge ones, chillies of different colours and sizes were also exhibited.

The wide range of flowers and vegetables displayed in separate kiosks received appreciation from the visitors.

“The view of such beautiful flowers at one stop fills your heart with happiness. The vegetable exhibition is also interesting,” said Abhinandan Rout, a visitor.

Apart from the exhibition, there were kiosks informing about different schemes of the horticulture directorate. Many kiosks also sold seeds, fertilisers and garden equipment. Packaged products made from kitchen gardens such as tomato puree, chilli sauce and packaged vegetables were also being sold at the event.

Workshops on terrace gardening, kitchen garden and plant care were also conducted during the event that was inaugurated on Friday. A cucumber eating competition and drawing contest was also hosted at the exhibition.

“We are glad that visitors and participants got together in our endeavour in such large numbers. The objective of the exhibition is to encourage gardening and spread awareness regarding plants,” said U.K. Mahapatra, assistant director of horticulture. Another flower exhibition is coming up on January 11 and 12 at the Regional Plant Resource Centre in the city.