Wedding flower’ marigold in full bloom across Punjab: PHA

Garlanded at weddings, honoured on Mexico’s Day of the Dead, the marigold now fills Punjab’s parks

LAHORE: Double-petalled French marigolds have reached full bloom across Punjab, bringing splashes of colour to public parks and green belts, Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA) Director General Raja Mansoor Ahmad said on Sunday.

The PHA has launched its largest-ever flower campaign in Lahore, preparing 13,853 flower beds across the provincial capital’s parks and green belts, up from 9,505 last year, an increase of about 46 percent, Mr Ahmad said.

Other PHA regional offices have also run large winter flower plantation drives. Bahawalpur leads with 417,000 flower seedlings, followed by Rawalpindi with 395,000, Gujranwala with 290,000, Sahiwal with 215,000 and Gujrat with 200,000. Dera Ghazi Khan has 160,000 flower seedlings, Faisalabad more than 100,000, Sialkot 35,000, Nankana Sahib 20,000, Murree 13,943, Khushab 6,950 and Multan 6,000.

Marigolds dominate the beds, alongside calendula (Gul-i-Ashrafi), dahlia, petunia, pansy, snapdragon, phlox, salvia, lantana, zinnia and chrysanthemum (Gul-i-Dawoodi). Murree’s beds also include juniper, morpankhi (Oriental Thuja), and iresine.

Marigolds are a staple of South Asian celebrations, particularly weddings. They feature in pre-wedding ceremonies such as Mehndi and in the garlands exchanged during the wedding ritual (known as varmala in India). Their sturdy, ruffled blooms stay fresh and keep their colour through long events, making them ideal for festive decorations.

Though popular across South Asia, French marigolds trace their origins to the Americas. Spanish and Portuguese colonisers and traders took them to Europe, and they reached South Asia in the 16th century along expanding maritime trade routes.

Mr Ahmad noted that marigolds also hold cultural significance in Mexico, where they are central to the annual Day of the Dead, a celebration that honours and remembers the departed. According to Mexican tradition, their bright orange colour and strong fragrance guide the spirits of the dead home to visit their families in early November.

The seasonal flowers typically last three to four months, with seedlings planted in October and November, peaking from December to February and fading by April as summer sets in, according to him.

Mr Ahmad said most flower varieties had been raised at PHA nurseries and transplanting to flower beds had begun to ensure timely, uniform blooming this winter. He said the PHA was committed to making the province’s parks and greenbelts greener and more colourful in winter, and to giving citizens a pleasant, healthy environment.

He said the campaign aims to keep Punjab’s parks and green belts green and colourful through winter, and to give residents well-maintained places to relax.