Written by Bashaarat MasoodSrinagar | October 5, 2025 03:20 AM IST 3 min readThe J&K government has begun work on an exclusive chrysanthemum (or Gul-e-Dawood) garden at the Srinagar Botanical Garden. (Express)As the lush greens of summer fade and a hush of grey settles over Kashmir’s Valley of colours, a quiet burst of life is taking root at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST). The Valley’s first chrysanthemum garden is set to bloom this autumn, infusing fragrance, colour and a renewed sense of hope into the fading landscape — and perhaps, a fresh lease of life into Kashmir’s waning tourist season.Nearly two decades after Srinagar’s tulip bloom transformed the Valley’s spring tourism — advancing the tourist calendar by almost a month — the chrysanthemum bloom aims to do the same at the other end of the season, extending it well into winter.Taking a cue from SKUAST’s experimental garden, the Jammu and Kashmir government has already begun work on an exclusive chrysanthemum (or Gul-e-Dawood) garden at the Srinagar Botanical Garden, adjacent to the famed Tulip Garden.“After the fall, everything turns grey, and that’s the time when these flowers bloom,” says Professor Imtiyaz Nazki, head of floriculture at SKUAST, Srinagar. “Just like the tulip gave a fillip to spring tourism in the Valley, this flower has the potential to boost autumn tourism.”At the university’s sprawling campus, over 80,000 chrysanthemum plants are ready to burst into colour. “We expect the chrysanthemum bloom to start somewhere in mid-October and last up to November 20-25, when the frost begins,” says Nazki. “We are organising a Chrysanthemum Festival during this period, inviting schools, stakeholders and policymakers to sensitise them to its potential.”The festival’s tagline—’From Gul-e-Lala to Gul-e-Dawood’ (from tulips to chrysanthemums)—captures the vision of a Valley that stays in bloom across seasons. “The seasons will start with tulips and end with the chrysanthemums,” says Nazki.With more than 60 varieties and 20 colours — each with multiple shades — the blooms promise to “overcome the fading hues of autumn”. Officials say that with polyhouses, the flowers’ lifespan could even be extended till mid-December.Story continues below this adBehind the initiative are the postgraduate and undergraduate students of floriculture at SKUAST. “The students, from different parts of the country, are behind this garden and the coming festival,” says Nazki. “The faculty is only supervising them.”As the campus readies to glow in a riot of hues, some plants will also be moved to Srinagar’s city centre, Lal Chowk. “We are collaborating with the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC),” Nazki adds. “We will decorate the Ghanta Ghar and its surroundings and set up a selfie point there.”A native of East Asia and Europe — and Japan’s national flower — the chrysanthemum is a perennial herbaceous plant that blooms in autumn. With thousands of cultivars grown across the world and some varieties yielding hundreds of flowers per plant, SKUAST’s experimental garden is expected to showcase nearly three million blooms.As the chrysanthemums prepare to colour Kashmir’s autumn, the Valley looks poised to add a new chapter to its floral tourism — keeping the spirit of spring alive a little longer, from Gul-e-Lala to Gul-e-Dawood.Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Srinagar