pune the empress garden flower show buds n blooms 2012 opened with more than 60 stalls at the empress botanical garden on friday offering a range of saplings gardening aids and organic items the show which goes on till january 22 will also provide entertainment and knowledge to visitors and schoolchildren in the form of a painting exhibition magic show and talks on health and first aid sculptures made from vegetables and leafy greens by avalokita mane and bonsai presentations by sunita shirke and mangala rao are some of the other attractions the focus is also on organic vegetables garden accessories and flower arrangements stalls highlight a myriad variety of roses hybrid and jungle orchids and exotic show plants that are among the attractions for avid gardeners back home we have over 200 varieties of orchids and lilies one just needs to have the basic knowledge of growing orchids at home said darjeelingbased s k rai who has put up a stall on orchids schoolchildren made the rounds of the garden on the opening day a special drawing and flower arrangement competition for schoolchildren is on the cards the venue also features flower arrangements by mehak foundation mona pingale and shashi shetty among other participants visitors made a beeline for stalls displaying terracotta and ceramic pottery gardening equipment and ecofriendly items by nurseries and other organisations some other events for all the days of the show include a talk on ayurveda in daily life by yojana pokarna and on dietetics by anuja an audiovisual presentationcuminteractive session with ikebana expert mona pingale a session on first aid and lifesaving skills by the rashtriya life saving society india aala vasant pheriwala a programme on flowers in poetry by nature photographer prakash joglekar storytelling for kids by pradeep agashe and a puppet show for children by sonya ketkar on the issue of pollution and how we can contribute to mitigate it joglekar will also present gaanare aakash a session on birds and their relationship with the local biodiversity the flower show will conclude with the prize distribution ceremony at the hands of r c jagtap chief executive officer pune cantonment board on january 22