Subtropical bloom

While waiting for … you know what … I must post more of the blossoming Tenerife. This isn’t any comprehensive introduction, only a listing of certain plants I photographed in the neighbourhood where we stayed.

Some of them are familiar from areas with warm climate, such as the magnificent bougainvillea above. They were blooming in various colours including white although I didn’t happen to shoot that one. Note that the colourful parts are, in fact, bracts acting as attractors of pollinators as the actual flowers are so tiny.

In our part of the world the hibiscus or China rose is a common houseplant but there they were growing as shrubs flowering in many colours.

The nerium or oleander (Nerium oleander) is another plant familiar to me from the Mediterranean.

I’m not entirely sure but I believe the above climber is a trumpet vine.

This dwarf umbrella tree (Scheffrela arboricola) of the Araliaceae family formed a hedge bordering a garden. It was intriguing to see the fruit the common houseplant produces when grown in a subtropical garden.

Naturally, there were an abundance of cacti and other succulent plants some of which are native to the Canary Islands. Here are only a few examples as my attention was most of the time drawn to the more conspicuous bright-coloured flowering, I’m afraid. From the top: crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii), prickly pear (Opuntia), and Canary Island spurge (Euphorbia canariensis).

Now a couple of fascinating trees. I had to do quite a bit of searching to find the name of the blossoming ornamental tree I spotted arching above the bougainvillea at our hotel. As far as I could tell, it is Tipuana tipu also known as pride of Bolivia.

The second one is a Royal poinciana or flamboyant (Delonix regia) sometimes called flame tree. In early April, it was only just beginning a new growing season. Its ripe dried pods hold loose seeds inside and can be used as toy rattles. Unfortunately, we only came across pods hanging far too high to be picked as souvenirs. Not that we’d have any babies in the family yet but our travelling companions do.

It requires quite extensive networks of automated watering systems to keep the garden and landscaping plants flourishing in these conditions. On contrast, here are a few typical local wild plants with rather unassuming flowering. From the top: broom (Genista), tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), fountain grass (Pennisetum), and Aloe vera. The last one can also be seen below as a garden plant. With some heavy cropping I’ve taken the photo to the tropics. My hunger for … you know what … is starting to call for desperate measures.

First time in Tenerife

Anyone who saw my previous post will understand what a shock it was to return from this setting to that of ours three weeks ago.

This is Puerto de Santiago also known as Los Gigantes in the municipality of Santiago del Teide, in western Tenerife. The coastal area lends its name from the majestic cliffs, the Giants, on the north-western corner of the island. The rugged volcanic landscape, the subtropical vegetation, the rich blossoming and the ocean charmed us from the start with their stunning beauty.

The Canary Islands off western Africa in the Atlantic Ocean have been the main winter holiday destination for Europeans for decades but I had never been to any of the seven islands before. Even hubby had only stopped over when he was sailing on merchant vessels for a couple of years in his teens – some fifty years ago! As we generally travel in our early spring and late autumn, we just never thought about anything else than cultural holidays, most often in a Mediterranean country.

Although mass tourism is today at most locations much more ‘civilised’ than what its reputation used to be, I must admit we had been a bit prejudiced against such a destination. The friends who won us over to join them for this holiday are seasoned Canary Island visitors and knew better. They had picked out the resort carefully: an apartment hotel quite close to the ocean in an inviting neighbourhood with practically only human-sized man-made structures. They proved us there are ways to avoid the blatant tourist traps and greatest masses if you choose wisely.

The Fishermen's Museum at Puerto de Santiago.

We were more than lucky also weatherwise. It was somewhat warmer than usual, the temperature rising to an ideal +25–+28°C (+77–+82°F) every day through our stay. We attended a couple of great guided excursion but didn’t make it to the northern parts of the island where the greenery is even more abundant. And then there’s La Laguna with the UNESCO-listed old town not to mention the many other towns, villages, nature sites and microclimates to explore. Needless to say, we’ve already started to talk about the next visit as we absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for inviting us, dear friends!

I am hoping a few more posts on this trip will follow while we are waiting for our ‘spring’ to be brought to life. It seems we haven’t seen any real progress since our return.