Bhubaneswar, Aug. 22: Nature lovers here can now enjoy walking through a flower garden that offers an assortment of perfumes as the Regional Plant Resource Centre threw open a fragrant flower garden today.

The garden, created in a landscape format on the premises of its botanic garden, boasts of 64 species of aromatic flowers.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the flower garden today.

Spread across three-and-a-half acres, the garden houses fragrant flower varieties such as champa (Michelia champaca), tuberose (Polyanthes tuberosa), trumpet flower (Cascabela thevetia) and yesterday-today-tomorrow (Brunfelsia calycina). It also has rare species, such as golden gardenia (Gardenia tubifera), winter green (Acokanthera spectabilis) and sea mango (Cerbera manghas).

Apart from plant species from Odisha, exotic varieties from places such as Bangalore and the north-eastern states have been displayed at the garden. Besides serving in the conservation of a collection of genetic resources for rare flowers, the garden is expected to promote research on aromatic plants and create awareness among the public.

“As the institute is working on creating a genetic database of the plants available on its premises, the fragrant varieties will also be included in the process,” said an official of the centre.

The garden landscape has been developed with verdant lawns and pathways for visitors. To add to the beauty of the garden, fragrant varieties of trees, shrubs and herbs have all been arranged in designed clusters.

Sources at the centre said the flower varieties for the series of clusters had been selected in such a way that a blend of various fragrances lingered in the garden throughout the year as the flowering time of each variety differed with season.

Chief executive officer of the centre A.K. Mahapatra said that the collection would be enriched from time to time.

“We are planning to make the garden the largest assemblage of fragrant flower species in the country,” said Mahapatra.

Visitors were seen thronging the aromatic garden in large numbers on the very first day. “For the first time, I am watching so many varieties of aromatic flowers in a garden. The smell of the flowers provides a soothing effect on my mind,” said Manisha Das, a visitor.

The botanic garden, which has boating facilities, a children’s park and a cactus garden, draws a number of visitors everyday.

The 25-year-old centre has made its mark as a grand repository of wild and cultivated plants housing the largest collection of cacti (1,050 varieties), roses (350 varieties), wild orchids (93 species), wild edible fruit plants (106 species) and medicinal and aromatic plants (300 species) in the state.