The Thread Garden

Wondering what can anyone do with thread other than stitching and trying to create masterpieces in art, but here is a man with a dream of different dimension. Welcome to the Thread Garden.

Thread garden is where plants and flowers don’t grow from the soil but grows from the hands of exceptionally talented and specially trained artists. This thread garden is the hard work of 50 trained artist for 12 years and is completely hand woven, so much of only hand work that not even a needle was used in this creation. Antony Joseph from Trichur, Kerala gave life to his dream and displays it in Ooty right in front of Ooty Lake.

This is what the creator of this garden Antony Joseph says “All flower petals and stems are fully wound with thread using shaped stiff canvas base inside for flowers and leaves and steel or copper wires for stem under hand winding. Tiny little pieces of bukram are tailored into the right size on which threads of various colors were hand-wound to give them the shape of leaves or flowers. The artistes rotate the fingers holding the thread in a certain position and speed it around the canvas base, to bring out the machine-like perfection. Thread filaments are used as buds”. He calls his technique “Four Dimensional Hand wound Embroidery”.

For the life-like difference in the color of the inner and outer edges of these leaves threads were wound on different pieces and all of them were carefully stitched together. Every leaf had about 30 parts according to natural patterns. In all, more than 60 million meters of thread in 400 different shades had been used to get the whole spectrum of natural colors combinations. Printing or painting had not been utilized at all. Special care has been taken to free the artificial plant nursery from dust and moisture and preserve its color and texture. Since its opening in December 2001 the thread garden has lured more than several thousand visitors.Often, it is dismissed, assuming that it is one of those places that are given exaggerated mention to attract the tourist. Located near the Ooty

Lake, a large rectangular shed-like room houses the Thread Garden. From outside, it just seems to be a tent of 70 meter in length and 10 meter in breadth. Irrationally, it is a unique indoor floral world at a very affordable price. It dazzles with the profusion of color and strikes you by the stillness of the plant life/verdant world. When you enter, all you would see is around 150 pots of plants and flowers. But, take a closer look! You will be able to the see the marvelous work of the artists who have created these unbelievably real looking models of plants and flowers, creepers, climbers, lawns and lotus ponds.

The ambience is natural enough for even the sharpest eye to be mistaken. All of them before your eyes, and yet it will be hard to believe that these are not God’s creations, because there is difference even in shade of the color of the leaves depending on whether they are freshly grown or a few days old. Not only that, every single vein of the leaves is clearly visible. These skillful effects are so elaborate indeed that no computerized machine can ever hope to duplicate them.

Antony Joseph, its creator, had taken 50 specially trained artists more than twelve years to complete this visual delight. Stiff pieces of cardboard were cut and shaped into leaves and flowers. These were then wound with thread meticulously and dexterously. Steel or copper wires were used for the stems, which were then wound with the appropriate color of thread. No needle or mechanical aid was used. Nearly 400 shades of plain embroidery threads, 60 million meters long, were used to create 150 different varieties of flowers. You can’t help but praise the meticulous workmanship, flawless patience and devotion to beauty of the artists.

So, is it worth your visit? We're sure it definitely is.