Peradeniya is km from Kandy, on the Colombo
road. It was a royal seat for a short period before Kandy -became the capital.
The famous botanical gardens & the university, in a beautiful setting, are
on the banks of the Mahaweli River. During the reign of King Kirthi Sri Raja
Singha (1747-82), what is now the botanical gardens was a royal residence
e& park. Gnnoruwa, a village on the other side of the river reached by a
suspension bridge, was the sense of much fighting between the Portuguese &
the kandyans. In 1636, a Portuguese army of 27000 sacked Kandy but was
surrounded & defeated by King Raja Singha ii (1620-87). Gannoruwa was also
the site of the rest house for distinguished foreigners who visited the king in
Kandy. From the ceremonial processions formed up. The larger part of Gannoruwa
is now taken up by an agricultural experimental station.
In 1821, six years after the fall of the
kandyan kingdom, the botanical gardens of about 607029 sq m were opened. They
are 472.4m above sea level & have a mean annual temperature of 21.11’ centigrade. The
golden age of the gardens began in, 1848 with the appointment of “Henry
Kendrick Thwaites, aged 37 as director. In his time the coffee blight hit
Ceylon. But he had foreseen it & recommended the planting of the tea shrubs,
thus rescuing the Ceylon planting industry from the shattering blow it had
received.
The morning hours between eight & ten
& the afternoon between four & six are the best times to see the
gardens. At the main entrance, on the Kandy side, are a striking row of the
plants known as “The Queen of the Flowering Trees” (Amherst Mobiles). During
the chief flowering season, between November & April, they yield graceful
sprays of vermilion & yellow flowers. On either side of the gate are two
handsome specimens of the “Flame Tree” of Madagascar, introduce to Ceylon in
1841.
From here the visitors can take many walks.
The spice collecting with the nutmeg grove, is only a few yards from the gate.
Cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, pimento, bay, vanilla, pepper & aromatic
grasses may be seen here.
The floricultural section & fernery are
also by in the lawn are colorful beds planted with caladiums, spatheglottis,
gerbera, helianthus, cannas, chrysanthemums, etc. the fernery, which was
originally laid down in 1861 has since been extended & improved.
The orchid house is entered through an
archway draped by a creeper of thumbergia. (Cinderella Slipper). Within are
represented many genera of orchids both indigenous & exotic, & hybrids:
dendrobium, cattleys, Vanda, phalanenopsis, caelogyme, oncidium, stanhopea,
aerides, etc.
Three sides of the garden are surrounded by
the Mahaweli River. Looking down the river at one point the Hantane peak rises
partly framed by a clump of giant bamboos. Experiments show that they grow as
much as two feet in a single night.
The avenue of the royal palms is much
admired & photographed by visitors. These were planted in 1905 & now
present a graceful feature of the gardens. The cabbage palm is a native panamas.
Many varieties of birds are to be found in
the gardens, though the heavy foliage hides them. Squirrels go bouncing over
the grass while butterflies flourish. The deep cool shade & endless variety
of trees growing with space for each to develop in its natural shape make a
lasting impression on the visitor.
“Probably no spot in Ceylon” writes Bella Sidney Woolf in how to see
Ceylon, “had made more admiration been lavished on it that the peradeniya
gardens. “ An earthly Paradise” is in fact non too extravagant a description.
Apart from their historical & botanical interest, the gardens stand
unrivalled in the natural style of gardening which has ousted the formal
gardens. It is a case of “Nature unadorned adorned the most”
Flowers known to western climes are grown
in many gardens in Ceylon: roses, geraniums, violets, sweet peas, arum lilies,
foxgloves, lobelias, among them. They flourish best in higher altitude
retaining their authentic colors. But everywhere , untended one finds
magnolias, oleanders, ixoras, Jasmines, rhododendron (above 1524m), frangipani
(temple flowers) , hibiscus, lantana & lotus above all pink & white
lotus.
There is a great variety of flowering trees
& shrubs. Some are deciduous & develop their blossoms when bare of
foliage. (e.g. Katu imbul, with large, fleshy, bright red flowers )while
others such as amherstia & spathodea are in their full glory of foliage
& blossom simultaneously.
The cassias, jacaranda, golden moor
(Poinciana) frangipani (temple trees),tabubias & iron wood (a- Gaha) are to
be seen lining streets even in Colombo as well as in gardens.
In a later chapter reference will be made to
the botanical gardens at Hakgala, the orchid collection of which are also
notable. For a small island of its size, Ceylon is rich in orchids. They
comprise its third largest natural order of flowering plants both in genera (over
60 different families) & of species & three of the genera are endemic
to Ceylon. About two thirds of the Ceylon orchids are epiphytes, growing on
rocks of trees. Which they use only for support & not for nourishment. The
remainders are ground orchids. The orchids are distributed over the island
according to climate zone which may be roughly demarcated according to altitude
& humidity: a hot lowland zone from sea-level up to about 1500feet; a cool
highland zone covering the hill country, from about 3500 feet to 8000 feet and
midland zone an area of intermediate temperature between these two zones.
Among the orchids endemic to Ceylon is the
wesak orchid (Dendrobium macarthiae). It is usually violet pink , rarely white
& grows in the hot , humid, shady forests of “Sabaragamuwa Province”. A
rare albino variety of these orchids is known as the “Bak Mala (Bak Flower)
because it blooms in April or the Month of “Bak”. A popular low country orchids
is the dove or pigeon orchid (Dendrobium Crumenatum) it is pure white
The Ceylon vandas prefer the less rainy
areas of the low lands, where they flower in profusion. Vanda tessellate is
said to be the only grey orchid in the world. It carries branching clusters of
large fragrant, slate-grey or greenish grey flowers with purple lips. The
foxtail orchids in one of the hardiest species in the low country. Defying
droughts it produces very handsome drooping trusses of closely packed white
florets, splashed with purple. The majority of ground orchids grow in damp,
shady jungles in the higher elevations of the midlands & the
highlands. The handsomest of these is
the star orchids which has a distribution from 762m to 2133m. stout erect
flower spikes bear a succession of showy star shaped flowers about 3inches
across, reddish brown, suffused with purplish orange in front, greenish yellow
behind with large trumpet-shaped lips.
The daffodil orchids (ipsea speciosa) is an
endemic species which grows in open grassy patinas around “ Haputala,
Diyathalawa & N.I. The fragrant bright golden flowers are seen in profusion
in March or April. The lily of the valley ( white flowers on purple stalks)
also flourish in the montane zone.
In the intermediate zone we come across the
wana-raja (aneectichilus regalis) which bears beautiful velvety bronze leaves
with golden veins. The flowers however are inconspicuous.
