71 ~ Frangipani and Poinsettias

Frangipani (Plumeria Alba)

Poinsettia (Euphorbia Pulcherrima)

It's the time of the year when poinsettias are blooming here in the Canary Islands. You will find them planted along roads and in public as well as private gardens, heralding the approaching Christmas season. They are quite spectacular to see when in long rows bordering a street. Here poinsettias are growing together with bougainvillae and flame vine (Pyrostegia ignea) along a country road. Daylilies are in the foreground.




Also in bloom are the exotic creamy blossoms of frangipani. The white flowers are of the variety Plumeria Alba and the pink ones, less prevalent, are Plumeria Rubra.

Frangipani (Plumeria Alba)

My friend Anne and I went out for a drive a couple of days ago and stopped at a little public garden in an urbanization near La Orotava. These photos of flowers, shrubs and trees were all taken there.


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Anne in the garden

We were quite impressed with the beauty of the Cassia tree (Cassia Spectabilis) which stood framed against a blue sky and in a carpet of its own yellow petals.

Cassia Spectabilis

And near finished blooming were several bushes of tibouchina with their velvety leaves and purple flowers:

Tibouchina Heteromalla

Another eye catching bush was this Acalypha Musaica with its giant multi coloured leaves:

Acalypha Musaica

And here's a majestic Schefflera, native to tropical rainforests.

Schefflera Actinophylla

We recently cut the top from one of these trees in our garden as it was growing too tall. Amazingly we never did plant this tree. It came from a seed dropped by a bird or the wind. But we do love it as many birds come for its shade in summer, when we will again have new leaves and branches.

Here's a slideshow of our day which started off with a little drive down the coast to Las Aguas, near San Juan de la Rambla where we watched the waves and went inside a little restaurant where we had been before "El Sotano" and had a look at their fish, which included a small barracuda.
Here's a Google street view of Las Aguas. Scroll to the left to see the restaurant.
Full screen option in top right corner of picture.


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However as it was too early for lunch, we drove to another village where we had chicken breast and chips in a little cafe bar. I hope you've enjoyed today's outing! So until the next time...¡Hasta la Vista!