TTD Gardens or Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is located in the center of the city of Tirumala. A popular place to visit in Tirupati, TTD Gardens presents visitors with fascinating landscapes, a variety of flowers and a refreshing environment.
Spread over an area of 460 acres, TTD Gardens provides flowers for all temples in Tirupati and Tirumala. Flowers are taken from these gardens for the sacred purpose of the temples. From garlands to adorn the flower deities to embellish the mandapam of temples, pandals and festive decoration, the TTD flower garden produces flowers for all uses. This TTD flower garden was originally designed to decorate the city of Tirupati and meet the requirements of flowers in different temples.
Boasting more than 200 varieties of plants, TTD Garden was created by Sri Ramanuja and his disciple Sri Andalwar in the 14th century. According to legends, Sattada Sri Vaishnavas, under the name of dasa nambis, used to create garlands for the temples of Tirupati and Tirumala. The amount of flowers that are produced from here is also a surprising fact in itself. It provides more than 500 kg of flowers to several temples in Tirumala and its surroundings. Some of the flowers that are cultivated here are roses, chrysanthemums, davana, exora, lotus, Kanakambaram, Tulasi, etc.
Many flowering plants also hybridize in this garden. Thanks to the process of hybridization and mutations, hybrid varieties of flowers such as hibiscus, croton and bougainvillea have been produced and named by various personalities. For example, Croton hybrids were called Croton Ramanuja, while bougainvillea varieties were named Sharada Mukherjee and Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma. There is also a germplasm collection of different varieties of flowers that have been brought from all over the world; This collection is maintained by the TTD department.
Not only a wide range of flowering plants, this garden also has ponds and water tanks such as Alwar Tank, Ananthapalli Gunta and Tank Mangalabhavi which serve as a water source for pilgrims who come to visit the Tirumala balaji temple, as well as a source of watering for the plants.
Every year, on the occasion of Brahmotsavam, an annual horticulture called Pushpa Yagam is organized in the garden. The TTD department also allows worshipers to give flowers to the temple on behalf of Sri Vari Pushpa Kainkaryam. There are government-run buses that offer free services for transporting flowers to Tirumala. An enchantment for photographers due to its captivating landscapes, TTD Gardens attracts every visitor with its incomparable beauty.