Soller Botanic Garden, Majorca

[David Nicholson]

The Soller Botanic Garden was founded in 1985 and opened to the public in 1992. It is a centre for the conservation, study and understanding of Mediterranean flora and specifically that of the Balearic Islands. We spent a full morning there last week but, not unexpectedly all of the bulbous plants and terrestial orchids were long gone as were all of the Spring flowering plants and shrubs and the Summer stuff was just getting going. More visits will be required at various times of the year

So some pictures:-

The first is looking back from the garden over Soller towards a spur of the Tramantana Mountains. It was actually a better day than it looks.
Armeria pungens with seed heads
Two shots of Euphorbia milii
A lemon coloured Dandelion, or perhaps something else?

[David Nicholson]

More from Soller

Ipomoea indica found scrambling all over the place in Majorca
Jasminum simplicifolium
Lantana camera (I think!)
Lantana montevidensis (two shots)

[David Nicholson]

... and more:-

a white form of Lantana montevidensis
Limonium arborescens (two shots )
Magnolia grandiflora
Monarda didyma

[David Nicholson]

.... and more

Two shots of Pelargonium tetragonum
Petra volubilis
Platycodon grandiflorus
Plumbago auriculata

[David Nicholson]

.... and yet more

Polygala balansae with seed being saved
Rosa x oderata pseudindica 'Humes Blush' one lovely flower on a quite scruffy plant
Salvia canariensis
Salvia microphilla
Santolina corsica one of some huge clumps

[David Nicholson]

and more

There was a huge clump of Dietes bicolor, quite impossible to get a reasonable shot of, so one flower head will have to do
Saponaria officinalis
Sedum pachyphyllum
Stachys glutinosa
Teucrium balearicum

[David Nicholson]

and to finish.

Can anyone give me an id for these please?
Verbascum sinuatum two shots

[Lesley Cox]

Maybe some kind of Ageratum? or not.

You've been having a fun tiime David.

[TC]

David
If I can piggy back on your post, here are some I took in Soller gardens in 2004. The gardens did not seem to have very much in flower at that time.  What I seem to remember was botanical exhibits in the main building 

[TC]

One more.  I thought that I should have had more and then I remembered that I spent most of the time taking video shots,

[Lesley Cox]

What is the Gladiolus please? I don't grow the Dame Edna types but really like the species and they seem to do well here, or at least the Sth Africans do. Is this one European?

[fermi de Sousa]

and to finish.

Can anyone give me an id for these please?

Hi David,
Possibly Trachelium caeruleum?
cheers
fermi

[David Nicholson]

Spot on Fermi, it certainly is Trachelium caeruleum. I see it's usually treated as an annual in the UK and it would probably hate my wet climate. Nice thing though and grows like 'Topsy' in Majorca.

Lesley, I'm no Gladiolus expert but I think it is either G. italicus or G. illyricus and more probably the latter. There are some words about both on the PBS Site.

Tom, can you remember what time of year you were there? It seems to me that very early Spring would be a nice time to visit.

[TC]

David
We visited Porto Pollensa in early May.  It was on the 12th we visited Soller.  It was blowing a full gale that day with heavy rain showers.  My neighbours had a week in P.Pollensa in late May this year and said they were frozen, so much so that they had to buy warm sweaters.  They also found out that the S. of the island was warm and sunny while they were cold and wet.

Looking at my diary I see that this holiday cost us £99 half board at the Hotel Azul----quite a bargain ! We booked up 24 hours before departure on a late deal.

Most of the time we were bird watching in the Bocquer valley and in the hills round about with other trips to Albufera.  I don't remember much in the way of wild flowers.

We had one favourite spot we used to go to after dinner and stay until sunset.  It was off the Alcudia road and up a dirt track by a small river.   There was a steep bank covered in nasturtiums and some other wild flowers which released their perfume at night,  Sitting there and listening to the Nightingales singing while watching the sun go down was magical. The Nightingale chorus was punctuated by the call of a Scops Owl.  It was one of those occasions when you did not want to move and break the spell.

[Yann]

interesting, looks like you're enjoying the island