Isles of Scilly, England
At almost 50° north latitude, the Isles of Scilly (NOT the Scilly Isles, the locals are quick to point out) are as far north as Newfoundland and Winnipeg. The archipelago lies twenty-eight miles west south west of Land’s End. It is, therefore, surprising to walk around Tresco’s Abbey Garden and find towering palm trees, lush tree ferns, huge healthy agaves and yuccas, and a variety of tropical and subtropical plants, many of which are in full and glorious bloom. Bathed by temperate moist air that accompanies the Gulf Stream (known here as the North Atlantic Drift), this is an ideal locale for vegetative abundance and diversity. It is unusual to see temperatures much above seventy or below freezing.
There are challenges. When Augustus Smith first arrived in 1834 the soil was poor and constant winds limited the flora to hardy ground hugging plants, with shrubs and small trees growing only in the most protected areas. The Smith family has enriched the soil and planted Monterey Cypress trees as windbreaks. They have imported plants from around the globe, presenting them in an informal setting in which they have become naturalized. The garden has been destroyed more than once by hurricanes and also by a rare heavy freeze. Each time, it has been painstakingly restored.
The Scillies have historically been treacherous waters through which to navigate. Commonly encountered dense fog, North Atlantic gales and abundant reefs have combined to make the area a nautical graveyard. Valhalla is a display of decorative works salvaged from ships lost here. Included in this, the central display, are the sternboard from the HMS Colossus, built in 1787, wrecked in 1798; a female figurehead from an unidentified wreck; signal guns from the Schiller, a steam powered passenger liner built in 1873, wrecked in 1875; a golden eagle figurehead from an unidentified wreck; and a male figurehead from the bark Palinurus, built in 1833, wrecked in 1848. The massive spike bearing thousands of blue flowers (with hundreds of pollinating bees inside) grows out of the tree echium, a shrub in the forget-me-not family.
At almost 50° north latitude, the Isles of Scilly (NOT the Scilly Isles, the locals are quick to point out) are as far north as Newfoundland and Winnipeg. The archipelago lies twenty-eight miles west south west of Land’s End. It is, therefore, surprising to walk around Tresco’s Abbey Garden and find towering palm trees, lush tree ferns, huge healthy agaves and yuccas, and a variety of tropical and subtropical plants, many of which are in full and glorious bloom. Bathed by temperate moist air that accompanies the Gulf Stream (known here as the North Atlantic Drift), this is an ideal locale for vegetative abundance and diversity. It is unusual to see temperatures much above seventy or below freezing.
There are challenges. When Augustus Smith first arrived in 1834 the soil was poor and constant winds limited the flora to hardy ground hugging plants, with shrubs and small trees growing only in the most protected areas. The Smith family has enriched the soil and planted Monterey Cypress trees as windbreaks. They have imported plants from around the globe, presenting them in an informal setting in which they have become naturalized. The garden has been destroyed more than once by hurricanes and also by a rare heavy freeze. Each time, it has been painstakingly restored.
The Scillies have historically been treacherous waters through which to navigate. Commonly encountered dense fog, North Atlantic gales and abundant reefs have combined to make the area a nautical graveyard. Valhalla is a display of decorative works salvaged from ships lost here. Included in this, the central display, are the sternboard from the HMS Colossus, built in 1787, wrecked in 1798; a female figurehead from an unidentified wreck; signal guns from the Schiller, a steam powered passenger liner built in 1873, wrecked in 1875; a golden eagle figurehead from an unidentified wreck; and a male figurehead from the bark Palinurus, built in 1833, wrecked in 1848. The massive spike bearing thousands of blue flowers (with hundreds of pollinating bees inside) grows out of the tree echium, a shrub in the forget-me-not family.
