BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London, was featured in a special edition of the BBC’s Gardeners’ World programme on Friday 17 August 2018.
Gardeners’ World is a TV show providing ideas, tips and advice from experts on how to get the most out of your garden. It is one of the UK’s longest-running and best-loved gardening programmes, first broadcast in 1968 and watched by over 2 million every week.
The airing on Friday 17 August 2018 was part of the BBC’s Big British Asian Summer – a season of programming to celebrate the cultural as well as artistic contributions of Asian Britons.
This special edition of the popular series explored the fusion of British and Indian cultures that are represented by the flowers, plants and walkways housed in the gardens of the Mandir. Monty Don OBE, with the help of Sunita Patel, a Mandir volunteer, experienced the profound sense of calm that the gardens provide to visitors as well as the fascinating blend of eastern and western horticultural styles that are interwoven into the garden’s classical design.
The programme also highlighted the floral motifs in the stone and wooden carvings of the Mandir and the offering of flowers to the deities as part of the daily devotional rituals at the Mandir.
The gardens of the Mandir have previously received first prizes and an ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award in the ‘Brent in Bloom’ garden competitions, which have recognised the Mandir’s contribution to the attractiveness of the local borough and the environment.
Sunita shared, “We’re delighted to contribute to the BBC’s focus of South Asian influences on British gardens. And it’s always humbling to be able to bring colour and joy to our local community as well as visitors from all over the world through our gardens.”
To learn more about the hour-long programme, please visit the BBC Gardeners’ World site here. It is also available to watch in the UK from the BBC iPlayer here until 16 September 2018.
To learn more about the Mandir garden, please click here.
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