Lalbagh Gardens

Hyder Ali commissioned the building of this garden in 1760 but his son, Tipu Sultan, completed it. Lalbagh is a 240 acre (971,000 sq.m. - almost 1 km².) garden and is located on the southern part of Bangalore. It holds a number of flower shows, especially on the Republic Day (26th January). The garden has over 1,000 species of flora. The Glass House, modeled on London's Crystal Palace (now re-modelled with a different layout), is the center of attraction. Hyder Ali laid out these famous botanical gardens and his son added horticultural wealth to them by importing trees and plants from several countries. The Lalbagh Gardens were commissioned by the 18th century and over the years it acquired India's first lawn-clock and the subcontinent's largest collection of rare plants. The garden also has trees that are over 100 years old.

The garden surrounds one of the towers erected by the founder of Bangalore, Kempe Gowda. Hyder Ali decided to create this garden on the lines of the Mughal Gardens that were gaining popularity during his time. The park has some rare species of plants brought from Persia, Afghanistan and France. With an intricate watering system for irrigation, this garden is aesthetically designed, with lawns, flowerbeds, lotus pools and fountains. Most of the centuries old trees are labeled for easy identification. The Lal Bagh Rock, one of the oldest rock formations on earth, dating back to 3000 million years, is another attraction that brings the crowds.

Brindavan Gardens

The Brindavan Gardens is a garden located in the state of Karnataka in India. It lies adjoining the Krishnarajasagara dam which is built across the river Kaveri. The work on laying out this garden was started in the year 1927 and completed in 1932.[1][2] Visited by close to 2 million tourists per year, the garden is one of the major attractions near the city of Mysore.

The Krishnarajasagara dam was constructed under the guidance of Sir Mirza Ismail, the Dewan (chief financial officer) of Mysore. As a part of beautification of the dam site, Sir Mirza Ismail conceived a plan of developing a garden in Mughal style with a design similar to that of Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir.[1] The work on this garden was started in 1927. It was constructed in a terraced fashion and named Krishnarajendra Terrace Garden.[1] The main architect for the park was G.H. Krumbigal, then Superintendent of Parks and Gardens of the Mysore Government.

The garden is maintained by the Cauvery Niravari Nigama (Cauvery Irrigation Department), a Government of Karnataka enterprise.[5] It is spread across an area of 60 acres. Adjoining it is also a fruit orchard spread across 75 acres and 2 horticultural farms, Nagavana (30 acres) and Chandravana (5 acres).[6] The garden is laid out in 3 terraces which contain water fountains, Ficus trees, foliage plants such as Duranta plumaria and Euphorbia and flowering plants like Celosia, Marigold and bougainvillea.[2] The garden is open to general public and an entry-fee is charged. The garden also has topiary works (sculptures of animals created by clipping shrubs), pergolas (shaded passageway covered by creepers) and gazebos.[2] The main attraction of the park is the musical fountain in which bursts of water are synchronised to the music of songs. There is also a lake within the garden with boating facilities available for visitors.[7]
The garden was renovated in 2005 with a cost of Rs. 5 crore.[8] The renovation included sprucing up the musical fountain using a digitised system and repairs of dysfunctional fountains.[8] In 2007, the Gardens were closed for a brief duration as a safety measure to avoid trouble related to the Kaveri water dispute.