Sapling planted by Queen Elizabeth II still thrives at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens

Bengaluru: British Queen Elizabeth II, during her visit to the garden city of Bengaluru in 1961, planted a sapling at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden. The tiny sapling has now grown to be a giant tree measuring to more than 60 feet tall!

Reigning for 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral on Thursday as the UK’s longest-serving monarch.

The late Queen, who arrived in Bangalore in 1961, was welcomed at the airport by Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, the Maharaja of Mysore and the first Governor of Karnataka at the time. She was escorted to the Lalbagh Botanical Garden.

To commemorate her visit, the Queen planted a sapling of Cook pine (Araucaria columnaris) near the Sunken Garden in front of the Glass House.

The coniferous tree has since thrived in the garden, growing to more than 60 feet in height with its trunk reaching 5 feet in diameter. According to officials of the garden, it may live for another 50 years and can double in size.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has announced observance of a one-day State Mourning on September 11 as a mark of respect for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Lalbagh Botanical Garden houses several trees planted by leaders from the world over. Renowned personalities including former Yugoslavian President Marshall Tito, former UN Secretary-General Dag
Hammarskjöld, and Nepal’s former monarch King Birendra, among others have planted saplings at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden.

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi, had planted a sampling quite close to the tree planted by the British Queen. Indi’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had planted a sampling, named Pride of India, in front of the glass house. First President of independent India Dr. Rajendra Prasad and former prime minister Indira Gandhi had also planted tree saplings.