Ventnor Botanic Garden Splendours

Having enjoyed a holiday on the Isle of Wight last October, staying at Ventnor Botanic Gardens in Signal Point Cottage, this time we returned in time to see the gardens in late spring and stayed in Smuggler's Lodge. The garden was stunning with Echiums and Geranium maderense the main stars for me, although there's lots more of course. I'm going to include the amazing array of plants looking fabulous between 15-22 of May:

I think this is my best photo of Echium spires, there are lots together, they look a bit like a forest:

I took lots of photos of them, but realise I don't need to add them here! So just one more:
And the Geranium maderense were so splendid, I can't grow either in my garden here, so love to see these beautiful plants growing:
and one more a bit closer!
aren't they just wonderful? These plants also were great; I know there was lots more, in one area there were three different perfumed bushes all flowering.
Above, a lovely Leptospermum, fantastic coloured flowers. I looked it up and it probably likes a slightly acid soil, mine is alkaline, but I couldn't resist buying one from the wonderful plant sales area which changed on a daily basis, with more plants added.
The white and blue Wisteria looked glorious around a sort of shady seating area
I took this photo of the pond by the restaurant on the first evening, the tortoises were sunning themselves and everything was very calm and quiet.
This was a general tropical view
This Datura flower was so fabulous, the plant had obviously been outside all winter and was already flowering; I also too a photo of the side of the flower. Unsure whether these plants are now called Brugmansia, I think they might be.
Quite a pinkish Camassia was lovely and unexpectedly alone rather than in a clump
And isn't this fabulous? An Aeonium which is thriving outside, what a fabulous microclimate
There were masses of glorious Osteospermums in quite dry places, under trees in the car park for example. I loved the blush of purple in this one
And here they are en masse, I've just bought one for my garden and hope it thrives like this, I'd never really appreciated them before now. That's the thing about a really good garden, it helps you see things anew
This looked like a dead nettle with unusual colour flowers and leaves in the middle of other things. I then saw it at the Kingston Bagpuize Rare Plant Fair last weekend. The nursery man I bought it off said it's rare and it took him ages to find out what it's called. It's apparently Scrophularia grandiflora, Portuguese figwort. This is what I found when I looked it up: 'Scrophularia grandiflora is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family ( Scrophulariaceae) endemic to Portugal . Scrophularia grandiflora is a perennial rhizomatous glabrous herb with stems up to 1.80 m (5.9 ft) tall, ramified at the base. pinnatisect leaves.
Is 5ft 9inches a bit tall for the bed where it's been planted? Yes it is.
Near the Brugmansia was a large clump of Clivia growing under a tree and flowering. I was given my first Clivia about 46 years ago by the wonderfully named Freda Ferne, and have grown them ever since then. I have seen them growing outside before in a park in Rome.
Above these poppies make a lovely splash of orange as well; they are taken on my friend Kathy's allotment, and crept in here via an auto saving device my phone operates when people post photos on WhatsApp., I thought I'd leave it in here because it's such a lovely photo. It might be Solsbury Hill in the background!
Above a plant flowering near Signal Point cottage. Not sure what it is, hopefully someone will tell me.
I'm not sure what this is above, took the photo to show the scale and splendour of VBG.
And last but by no means least, the Agaves do wonderfully in the gardens. I'm sure I missed lots of gems and jewels in the garden, but those were the stand out plants for me in mid May.





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