A Visit to The Botanical Garden

I've been trying to find out the name of this succulent plant which grows in several well tended outdoor planters in a nearby shopping center.

 I am sure it is a Kalanchoe but which variety?

It is healthy and a clear shade of jade green, and as most succulents do here in the Canary Islands, growing to a large size in the open air.

                               Unidentified Kalanchoe            

After browsing through my books on Canary flora and checking the web without any success I decided to head up to the local Botanical Garden to see if there was any planted there.      

As always, I became involved in having a look at some of my favourite spots inside the garden, but keeping an eye out for a plantation of succulents.

The orchid and fern bower looked inviting:

  Bromeliads, orchids and ferns

Anthuriums do well here in the shade tunnel:

Anthuriums

The tree with hanging Spanish moss attracts visitors with cameras:

Not really a moss, the Tillandsia usneoides belongs to the Bromeliaceae family.

Waterlily blooming on the lily pond:

And up a few steps is the koi pond, A good place to sit and rest.

I was pleased when these two ladies came and sat down to complete the peaceful scene

for my photo.

Well I didn't have any success finding that Kalanchoe in the garden, but I found that I could consult with a specialist in the office if I returned the next day.  So I did that and after some checking with another colleague, the botanist told me that it could be a Kalanchoe Thyrsifolia.....but he wasn't sure.  

So the search will continue! Next stop - the garden centres in case I find one there.

And to add a little more from the jazz and BBQ event in my last entry, here's Maria at Alvaro's tennis club pouring the wine for our table during the barbecue lunch:

With good music and food we all had a wonderful time!

Papas arrugadas ....those Canary wrinkled salt potatoes and the famous sauces: red and green mojos:

Papas Arrugadas con mojos

And for dessert, a flan with homemade ice cream.

I'm still on the trail of identifying that Kalanchoe so there will be more about that soon!

Thanks for dropping by.  Come back again soon. ¡Hasta la vista!

92 ~ Cactus Down

Our tallest cactus lost a couple of arms which fell down into the bouganvillea in one our recent wind storms and so we decided to cut it all down, as the weight of the remaining arms was dislodging the tiles of the garden shed. Our gardener Antonio came with two of his sons and a power saw to take it all down. He has five grown sons. Imagine!

Antonio up the ladder ties a cable around one arm.
After it's ripped off, they start on another one...look out!

Pull....pull....PULL!

A lot of liquid squirts out as he saws it into pieces.

He had to make many trips with the wheelbarrow to take it all away.

As everything grows here at such a pace, the broken bougainvillea will soon be climbing back up and blooming again.

One nice surprise this morning was to see our first spikes of larkspur blooming. We have a lot of it and reseed more every year as it's such a welcome sign of spring and the purple ones look especially pretty!





As I write this the weather has changed and we have a soft rain. It's always needed here!

Thanks for the visit, and ¡Hasta la vista!

57 ~ Our Piccabeen Palm

(Click to enlarge)

Our lovely tree has been in the garden for years. A native of Australia, the Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana is most attractive when the seed pods burst open to display strings of tiny pink pearls tightly packed into their husk.

As the strings mature, the seeds grow larger and turn red, to the delight of birds which come to feed on them.


But I've never seen two seed pods burst at once on this tree. The pods are the trunk end of the long green palm leaves, which eventually turn brown and die, ripping off the seed pod as they fall to the ground, exposing the new seeds.


This tree grew on its own from a seed fallen from a previous tree which was uprooted in a wind storm. Only after we cleared away the parent tree did we notice that a seed had rooted and was producing a new one!

The photos can best be seen when clicked to large size.

Here are some more photos taken in the garden today:

4 ~ The Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden in Puerto de la Cruz ( El Jardin de Aclimatación de la Orotava) was created after royal decree in 1788 by King Charles III in view of the necessity to have an acclimatization zone on Spanish territory for plants proceeding from the tropics destined for mainland Spain. The first plantations began in 1792. The garden now contains important collections of tropical and subtropical plants as well as a study centre for endemic Canary species of flora and vegetation. The current garden area of 20,000 sq meters is being enlarged to double the size and when finished will include modern installations as well as more garden space.

The openings times are from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm (open one hour longer in summer) and the only closing days are January 1, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Entrance costs €3 or €2 for residents with ID. The last chance to enter is half an hour before closing time.
Library and herbarium study visits may be made by appointment.



















One word of advice if you make a visit there. As the ground is covered with fine gravel (picón volcanico) it's better to wear closed shoes rather than sandals as the small stones get between your toes and it can be most uncomfortable walking around!