Beautiful Boxing Day 2008 - Winter warmer

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What a gorgeous day it has been today, a bit of a bitter easterly which kept things dry, but the sun was warming. the invite for mince pies and mulled wine in aid of a local hospice at the cafe of the beach next to the botanical gardens in Ventnor Isle of Wight was too good to turn down.

After we were suitably warmed and fed on the mince pies and hot mulled wine, we climbed back up the steep hill and back into the botanical gardens. This time armed with my camera I am able to share some of the beautiful plants that were growing and flowering on boxing day this year.

These photos are of a plant which is a total mystery to me (I have posted a question to see if anyone can identify it for me). It has really ‘grown on me’ and as I walked past I saw a small branch on the floor which I have brought home to see if I can strike a cutting! I have since found out it is Sparmania africana thanks to the answer to my question by GoY member Janey. The cutting I found was waiting to be potted up in some water and my husbands cat found it and chewed it to death. I have since found out the plant is poisonous so………………………………watch this space. The bloody cat has chewed my bromeliads plus the flower spikes and my princess tree which had lovely purple buds appearing on it!!!

I think this is a Puya

This is one of the main walks leading from the coastal path into the gardens and a patch of echiums, I think in their first year. These Echiums (Pininana) are biennials and take 2 years to flower, then they drop their seeds and die.

A camelia in full bloom

This is the Australia Garden – mostly tree ferns, but there are plenty of other splendid plants
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Leptospernum Cardwell

Then it was on to the New Zealand Garden which is where I got some of my inspiration for my front garden. This is a picture of some new shoots appearing on this plant. It is Astelia nervosa chathamica thanks to Bonkersbon and Spritzhenry for the id. It can be used as an alternative to Phormium.

These are Pseudopanax ferox, odd looking plants, but very striking, I have 3 in my garden, not that big!!

The other name for Pseudopanax ferox is the lancewood tree.

Phormium Tenax Tricolour.
I used several of these to form a hedge in my ‘small’ front garden. Only to learn that the Tenax variety of Phormium grows to 6 × 6ft! I learned, after planting the tenax that I actually needed cookianum which only grows to about 3ft. This is how we all learn isn’t it!!

This strange looking thing in the New Zealand garden was named as Oryzepsis Leesoniana, but I think a label may have got mixed up or the grass it should have been naming had died down.

Cycad or Sago palm, growing happily

Snap dragon

Seneca Grandiflorus – African plant. It has grown as if it has been made into a standard, but it is probably because the lower foliage has died back and dropped off.

A Brugmansia Suevolens. This was in full bloom a couple of weeks ago, but I suppose the recent frosts have put pay to that!! However……………

New growth from below

The Sub-Tropical Palm Garden

Abutillon – Not too sure of the variety

The cafe, library and museum

Through to the Mediteranean Garden

This little gem was flowering its heart out – sorry, don’t know what it is

more Echium Pininana – these look like they will flower this year

A Salvia

A Canary Palm – you can get these at B&Q, jusgt bear in mind they can get this big before you plant one in your garden!!!

This is one of my favourite plants, originating from the hottest parts of the Mediteranean – isoplexis canariensis

It has gorgeous orange spike shaped flower heads

I look at these pictures and at the plants which grow here and I think I am not in the UK, but another country

Aeonium, happily growing in the rocks

Nerine Oleander – a beautiful specimen

A beautiful pine/fir/spruce – I don’t know what this is, if anyone can help that would be great.

A nice entrance/exit to another part of the garden shaded by Acacia delbata

Another gorgeous coniferous tree which needs an id. Thanks to Janey, Alexandre552 and Bluespruce it has been identified as Araucaria heterophylla – Norfolk Island pine

Arums

This is the cactus garden, I have tried to name a few, but some of the labels were behind pieces of plant and with hairs, spikes, etc, i didn’t fancy moving them to get a look!!

Euphorbia Pentagona. I couldn’t believe this was a euphorbia

Mother of Pearl Plant – Graplopetalum Paraguayense from Mexico

A flowering aloe

Penetemon interplanted with a beautiful grey foliage plant

Correa reflexa

Correa reflexa – close up of flowers

Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans)

What a great day it has been, it certainly doesn’t look like a day at the end of December in the UK. My husband told me that he had sent for a life time membership for a Christmas present for me – what a star..
I hope you have enjoyed looking at my blog, something to cheer us all up…..

• 26 Dec, 2008
• 9 likes

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