Semmozhi poonga

Things changed certain to close the Woodlands Drive-in couple of years back to create a botanical garden in its premises after the lease to run the restaurant comes to cease and hold on to horticultural department. It was a surprising shock for many similarly to give away their favorite place to check with flavor and favor among woods amid the concrete jungle of metropolitan.

I visited the woodlands at last to meet a blog friend and it was a memorable one and could be easily remembered for been wandering among woods in wheels after years become immobile and staying within cars to enjoy my favorite crispy Dosai which I miss very badly these days. Even though we were partially happy about the decision taken by govt. to create a botanical garden for chennaities like the many other tourist places holding an attraction, I was half minded to give away the only restaurant I visit and the playground and the pony ride I enjoyed as a child.

The Semmozhi Poonga (garden) which represents the woodlands today attracts many people and I was among them to check it on a schools holiday which was much crowded to view completely or quiet minded. Just thinking to do another visit to the garden sooner or later, it has a wonderful archway to welcome with lust green walls of various species of plants and mound, with bamboos roof was the main attraction to the garden.

The children were standing in uniform to get the tickets to enter the garden that floors beautifully in titles and fountains sprinkling water followed by stone slapped pathway that makes a hard and rough ride for my wheels throughout the garden. There are some beautiful arch passages that built with bricks and planks that make visitors to take elegant photographs out of it and in front of the information center there is thorn balls called Barrel cactus placed on pebble pots.

The garden offers plenty of herbal, aromas, crotons and flowering plants that belong to 500 categories of species and 80 more trees that are already exist as woodlands in which some are more than 100 years old. The playground is filled by children whose hustle bustle activities enhance the garden to some extend and the flowering plants that conceal in the shades of nets craves to captures by the cameras enhance.

The cone like orange flowers were pretty and many species got its sign boards to identify the names and arranged in various shapes and circles across the garden with pebbles creating a pretty sight. The rocks are used well to create an interesting cascade which doesn’t give us a pretty sight since lack of water and the ponds and canals were also sludge and sluggish where gooses were wandering simple since clearing process was going on.

The garden has beautiful green lawns and ponds and fountains adding pretty much, and besides being nearby Anna flyover the interior garden has some quietness (even it’s crowded) and eye catching spider lilies to adorn the banks of pond and the fountain amid them could seize ones present. The lawns greeting in green wants anyone to roll or least move into it but people are warned by guards to not keep off-track from pathways which annoys somehow means couldn’t stop to appreciate the effort taken on it.

What’s worth about the garden was its color changing fountains that delights after dusk and there are two more differentiates in it and one among them was the rising sun fountain, which resembles the ruling party’s emblem. The garden also own a amphitheatre to conduct concerts and public festivals, which also acts as a public get together for fun like gesture and chitchat with friends sitting around the gallery under the fencing trees. The most welcome move was its ramp facilities wherever need to climb, but what anxious was its uneven pathway that caution slippery.

There are wooden bridges too to cross the canals and over the garden has touched varies forms into it to make certain a standard garden and get listed as one important place to check within Chennai. Somehow it looks artificial if not there wood-lands!