Download Some botanical highlights in the Gardens March 2016

Some botanical highlights in the Gardens
March 2016
The numbers refer to the gardens as shown on your map.
The display of Magnolias continues to steal the limelight at the Gardens at the moment. A number of
different Magnolias are in flower but the most spectacular are the forms of Magnolia campbelli, natives of the
Himalayas. They are perhaps the most magnificent of all Magnolias. Cornish gardens celebrate the early
arrival of spring with the blooming of giant Magnolia campbelli trees, the holy grail of Magnolias. Look for the
white flowered Magnolia campbelli alba, the beautiful pink flowered M. campbelli Charles Raffill and the
stunning purple flowers of a clone of M. campbelli mollicomata. As spring starts to kick in, others will be
joining them.
Despite cool temperatures, increasing day length is spurring many plants into growth. Others have continued
relatively unchecked through the winter. On the South African Terrace (3), mounds of yellow daisy
flowered Euryops, in several species, continue to provide colour as do the exotic bushes of white flowered
African Hemp, Sparmannia africana.
As you enter the Australian Garden (4) you will see two bushes of pink flowered Grevilleas on your
right in flower. The brightly coloured, petal-less flowers are most peculiar, each consisting of a calyx tube
that splits into 4 lobes with long projecting styles. They are a good nectar source for birds, particularly
honeyeaters, in their native Australia. The plant is named after Charles Francis Greville, who was a close
associate of Sir Joseph Banks, both founders of the Royal Horticultural Society.
In the Americas, the white flowered evergreen Drimys winteri trees are in flower, a native of Chile and
Argentina where it is a dominant tree in the temperate coastal evergreen rainforests. For centuries before
vitamin C was isolated, ‘Winter’s Bark’ was esteemed as a preventative and remedy for scurvy. Indeed, an
infusion of the bark sustained Captain James Cook and his crew in the South Pacific.
Also in the Americas, there is another evergreen tree with (smaller) white flowers called Boldo or Peumus
boldus. You will find it on the (muddy) lawn alongside of the Totem Pole. It is an endemic of central Chile
where the leaves, which have a woody, slightly bitter flavour and a camphor-like aroma, are used in a similar
way to bay leaves and also in herbal teas.
Apparently, Boldo teabags are readily available in
supermarkets in Chile. There is also a long tradition
of its use in herbal medicines. The flowers are
succeeded by tasty and nutritious fruits. However, in
order for this to happen you need both male and
female plants. Ours is female.
In the New Zealand Garden (6), look out for a
flowering Pittosporum bush at the eastern end of the
garden. This is Karo or Pittosporum crassifolium
and it has some of the largest flowers of any
Pittosporum. They are a handsome shade of purple
and borne in clusters at the ends of the shoots. It is
an excellent plant for coastal conditions, being very
tolerant of salt spray, and for this reason it was
widely planted in the Isles of Scilly as a shelter belt
around their commercial bulb fields. The sticky seeds
are dispersed by birds and it has spread across the
islands, growing often in cracks between rocks even
on the uninhabited islands. Alongside of this plant,
you may notice the Sophora bush, which is covered with brown flower buds.
In the Palm Garden (7) look out for large bush with flaking coppery bark growing behind the Tennis Hut.
This is the Tree Fuchsia, Fuchsia excorticata, the largest of its kind, growing up to 12m in the wild. It is
one of three New Zealand species (most Fuchsias
are New world plants) and in all but the warmest
parts of its range, it is deciduous, as it is here in the
Gardens. Look for the small bunches of hanging
flowers borne directly on the stem and branches.
They change in colour from greenish-yellow to
purplish red and are rich in nectar. In New Zealand,
this plant is a favourite of the introduced Australian
Brushtail Possum which has wrought havoc to the
natural ecosystems on New Zealand. Where
Possums are present in high densities, they can
completely defoliate bushes, after which the bushes
die.
When you leave the central courtyard with the fish pond, you will see mounds of a yellow flowered shrubby
succulent growing on the island bed in front of you. This is, the Greater Mexican Stonecrop, Sedum
praealtum, which, as its name suggests, is a native of Mexico. It is one of those plants which was always
considered to be tender but has proved to be tougher than expected and is now grown in many gardens. It
is naturalised (ie spreading naturally outside of gardens) in many countries with a Mediterranean climate.
In the Mediterranean Garden (11), a
variety of plants are just starting to come into
flower. One of these is a tree spurge,
Euphorbia mellifera from Madiera and the
Canaries. It forms a lush evergreen shrub two
metres high. The brownish flowers are
remarkable for their strong honey scent. You
can find them along the top terrace in the
Mediterranean Garden, particularly around
the steps.
As you enter the Walled Garden (13), you will be struck by the bold, jagged blue-green leaves and upright
spikes of chocolate-brown flowers of the Honey Bush, Melianthus major, a native of South Africa.
Although grown quite widely as a foliage plant, it is often cut down by frosts in the winter and therefore fails
to develop flower spikes. The flowers produce abundant nectar, which is sought by sunbirds in its native
country.
Growing alongside of it, to the left, is a large evergreen bush which is a survivor from the 1970s when
Harold Hillier planted the garden. It is generally overlooked but at the moment it is bearing abundant
clusters of tiny purplish blue flower-buds. This is Melicytus chathamicus, a small tree with toothed leaves
which hails from the Chatham Islands, which lie some 680km southeast of New Zealand, where it is a major
component of dwindling coastal forests. Remarkably, this plant belongs to the violet family.
Also in the Walled Garden, bushes of Giant
Groundsel, Telanthophora grandifolia make an
imposing impact. The English name doesn’t sound
very exciting but this oversized plant from the
cloud forests of southern Mexico is far from
ordinary, with large leaves and dinner plate sized
golden flower clusters. As with many of the plants
in the gardens here, elsewhere it is grown as a
conservatory plant but, given room to breathe, it
becomes spectacular.
It is also worth making a detour at the moment to the Oriental Garden (12) where a good range of
colourful Camellias are providing a colourful show.
We hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the special plants
which make Ventnor Botanic Garden unique.
There is always something new to see here throughout the year
and every visit will bring new botanical surprises.