Madeira is one of my very favourite garden destinations. I love seeing what we would regard as houseplants growing with weed-like vigour on the roadside, or trimmed to form a hedge...
Every now and then I’m asked to host a gardening cruise, and I’ve just returned from the most recent, to Madeira. I’m pleased to report that the fantastically floral island was just as lovely as on my previous visit, years ago.
Madeira is one of my very favourite garden destinations. I love seeing what we would regard as house plants growing with weed-like vigour on the roadside, or trimmed to form a hedge. Poinsettia always looks wonderful there, not to mention the tangled jungles of Opuntia, the prickly pear, which are often dotted with fruits.
The bird of paradise flower, Strelitzia, always seems at its most vigorous and vibrant in Madeira, too. I always find hard to avoid the temptation of buying a packet of the seed while I’m there. There’s no reason to grow strelitzia from seed, of course, here at home. It can be very slow to germinate, even when exposed to the necessary levels of heat, then you face a long, long wait for the plant to eventually flower. It would be so much easier if we had a Madeiran climate!
After 10 days in the company of more than 100 keen gardeners, I feel refreshed and invigorated. The calabrese I planted the day I left has doubled in size, and the last-minute tomatoes that I planted also seem sturdy and unstoppable. So, although I had a wonderful trip, I’m still glad to be back in my own garden…
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