#SixOnSaturday: From Ventnor Botanic Gardens

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a week at Signal Point, a cottage in the grounds of Ventnor Botanic Garden on the Isle of Wight, so I thought this week, I'd choose my six from the photos I took of the garden. There was so much to see on the Isle of Wight, that it took me a few days to properly look round the garden., with its above average temperatures and frost a rarity, many plants thrive at VBG that wouldn't elsewhere in the UK. It's a beautifully situated garden, below a great cliff in an area called Undercliff between Ventnor town and St Lawrence village. To the south is the coastal path and the sea, the nearest beach is at the delightful Steephill Cove. But onto the garden.

This beautiful Agave was by the entrance to a tropical greenhouse, it's unusually contrasted leaves were lovely, I have the common one with yellower midribs. I was keen to buy a cutting, and when I finally located the Head Gardener, he said he'd post one to me. I suppose he gets fed up with people wanting cuttings, anyway it's my number one of six.

Walking into the tropical rainforest house, there is a waterfall, and lots of tropical plants

This walkway seen below gives an idea of how verdant the whole area is

and then the pond further along has those glorious water giant lily pads, they are the second of my six

This cork tree was lovely, but can't be one of my six because there are some more wonders of VBG!

This fishy fountain is my third, it's outside the restaurant, has two resident terrapins and is a lovely peaceful place to sit beside.

There's masses of Salvia 'Phyllis fancy' in the garden doing wonderfully and growing very vigorously, one of the loveliest Salvias, late to flower and not very hardy, but worth the bother, it's my fourth

My last two are a purple passion flower looking lovely because of its soft colour

And lastly a flowering plant with the most wonderful sweet smell, and tiniest white flowers, it's called Polygonum scoparium and is found in Corsica and Sardinia, it's listed as being in Cambridge Botanic Garden as well, so maybe I could grow it here

So there are my six amid some photos of the hot house at the botanic garden.

I've just had a look at The Propagator's blog, he ran 100 miles last week, that sort of distance must take its toll on the body, but quite an achievement to do that and still keep the garden commentary going. Well worth clicking on the link if you made it this far and see what other gardeners are getting up to.