Passiflora Caerulea

A native from South America and introduced to Europe by Spaniards in XVIII century, first classified by Linnaeus and with hundreds of hybrids produced along the years.  The fruit of the plant is known as passion fruit or maracuyá (passion edulis).  The plant in the image was covering a long stone walled garden, growing wild in Bunyola ( Mallorca).

 

Raixa Gardens - Bunyola (Mallorca)

An interesting visit in the region of Serra de Tramuntana in the Western region of the Mallorca  is Raixa Gardens, an estate (is called "posesio") dating from the XVIII century and gardens from XIX century, with an Italian revision later on.

The region by itself deserves as many days as you can, and now it has been declared by UNESCO World Heritage site in the category of cultural landscape for landscape, cultural, historic and ethnological values.
The images are from the entrance gardens and lower gardens on a day with stormy weather.

Bougainvillea - island of Mallorca

Greetings from the beautiful Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands!

I am on vacation and I will be posting from here.  But today I leave you with the first image from my terrace, a fuchsia bougainvillea and a palm tree: the essence and perfect portrait of the Mediterranean!

Midsummer potager, Kauwberg Park, Brussels

Midsummer sundown, a quite path in the park, a warm and relaxed atmosphere and the surprise of the potager offering summer fruits and vegetables.

   

Tamarix Ramosissima

The Botanical Garden in Antwerp, an intimate botanical

 Is summer (in the Northern hemisphere), temperatures are rising and if in the city the heat forces to take breaks to refresh.  A good idea is to stop by parks and gardens. Some green urban areas are more than a park or a garden, they are historic nature areas with knowledge,  a sort of a museum of living vegetation, and tehy are very worthwhile visiting.


One is these gardens is in the city of Antwerp (Belgium).  It is a small botanical garden right in in the historic quartier of the city, the Plantentuin Stad Antwerpen  is more than 200 years old and in early moments it was a resource for medicinal plants for a nearby hospital.


Currently, the Plantentuin is owned by the city of Anwerp and since 1950 is listed as a garden of great value.  It has three sides surronded by buildings, and one side is open to the street, but it does not feel enclosed.  We can find a great number of specimens between trees, shrubs, more than 2000 herbs and a kitchen garden and a parterre succulents of cactuses, that is very appreciated by visitors for its rarety considering the climate of the city.  


I have visited the garden in different seasons, here is a general view from last March, a grey a cold day, but the garden started to offer some signs of spring.

Last weeks I visited the garden again, to find this month the perfect to enjoy all the beauty, color and splendor, especially in a mostly sunny afternoon.

The main entrance at Leopoldstraat is an invitation to a long and pleasant walk

parterres with seasonal blooming are part of the attraction

a beautiful brugmansia in pale pink

and some ponds add a touch of rich biodiversity

lotus and carpas live in pleasant contemplation

one of the paths are dedicated to liquidambars

with some great samples of cephalaria gigantea

It is a place that attracts vistors all day long

visitors of all kinds .... like the bees in these beautiful samples of blue echinops

The area of the kitchen garden, one of the favorites to walk

and the herbs corner all with labels to identify the plants

There are place for exotic specimens like this beauty, strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise) 

One of my favorites tree, magnolia grandiflora with early summer bloomings

And one of the curiosites, the cactus garden

IThere are many intimate corners for relax 

and many different plants to discover and enjoy for its beauty, like the rudbeckia laciniata

It is also a place to learn about nature and biodiversity 

And the side to the street, is closed by a stoned fence from where we can still admire the garden inside once it is closed  A place definitely to visit more than once.