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The Exotic GardenWill Giles Exotic garden in Norwich is renowned for growing plants that supposedly shouldn’t survive on the East coast of England, but in fact they do! The garden is open in high summer when you can visit the garden in all its glory.
Be transported to the tropics and see houseplants in the garden and bromeliads in the branches of trees surrounded by lush tree ferns. The garden of about 1 acre in size is an immense mix of planting from the ludicrously tender to the dead hardy, all having an exotic appearance in nature. In high summer, the garden becomes quite magical, full of hidden corners and riotous colour. The air is filled with the intoxicating scent of Jasmine, Brugmansia (Angels trumpets) and different varieties of Hedychiums and Alpinias. (Gingers). The ridiculously large leaved Elephants Ear, Colocasia esculenta, ‘Mammoth’ with luscious green leaves 2x3 feet in size on long stems. Towering bananas such as the purple Abyssinian banana Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, form massive canopies to walk under as do the root hardy banana Musa basjoo. http://www.exoticgarden.com/ Majorelle Gardens in MoroccoThe Majorelle Garden (Arabic: حديقة ماجوريل) is a twelve-acre botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakech, Morocco. It was designed by the expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and 1930s, during the colonial period when Morocco was a protectorate of France.
Majorelle was the son of the Art Nouveau ébéniste of Nancy, Louis Majorelle. Though Majorelle's gentlemanly orientalist watercolors are largely forgotten today (many are preserved in the villa's collection), the gardens he created is his creative masterpiece. The special shade of bold cobalt blue which he used extensively in the garden and its buildings is named after him, bleu Majorelle—Majorelle Blue. The garden hosts more than 15 bird species that are endemic to North Africa. It has many fountains, and a notable collection of cacti. (source: wikipedia.org) Schefflera PhotoOrganised messOur main seating area patio is a bit of a mess at the moment with lots of pots jumbled about as we start preparing for the new gardening year ahead. I have been grouping some of the plants, mainly based on where they will be going during the year, so it will be easier once we get into full swing of oranising the garden this year.
See our post for lots more info http://www.alternativeeden.com/2011/10/fine-disarray.html |