Bengaluru’s Lalbagh Botanical Garden is set to open a 2.5-acre outdoor mist garden in about a month, creating a cool, moist environment for orchids, ferns and air plants through a combination of natural shade, rare plants and nearly 300 foggers.
The garden is being developed by the Karnataka State Department of Horticulture on either side of a natural valley near Lalbagh’s Double Road gate. The valley carries rainwater collected from the garden’s historic Lalbagh rock, while nearly half of the site is already covered by shade from existing trees.
Unlike conventional mist gardens, which are generally built inside covered structures, the Lalbagh project will remain open to the sky. Its design will use the existing tree canopy and an artificial fogging system to recreate the moist microclimate associated with tropical forest environments.
Dr M Jagadish, Deputy Director of Lalbagh, said the site would include around 200 varieties of colourful shade-loving plants sourced from Thailand, China and different parts of India. The landscape will also feature pearl grass, lawns and around 40 large natural stones, which have already been placed across the garden.
The misting system will be a central part of the visitor experience and the garden’s planting strategy. Officials said nearly 300 foggers would be installed, with fogging lines rising to about 12 feet around the trees. Each line will have 12 to 13 nozzles that release fine mist, while sprinklers will irrigate the plants and lawn.
According to Jagadish, the mist is expected to create conditions suitable for more than 50 varieties each of orchids and ferns, along with air plants. These plants will initially be placed on tree trunks and branches and are expected to establish over time.
The project is inspired by a mist garden in Singapore but is being developed as an open-air version of the mist gardens commonly created under covered structures. Its design places the horticultural display within an existing landscape rather than relying entirely on a constructed enclosure.
The department said ground preparation, sprinkler installation and the placement of the natural stones had been completed. The remaining work, including the fogging infrastructure and planting, is expected to be completed in about a month. Once opened, the garden will add a new public horticulture space to one of Bengaluru’s best-known botanical institutions.
