The Canary Islands? Nope, Cornwall!
Being the exotic plant fans that we are we thought it was best to start the week long holiday by doing some plant shopping. The weather was gorgeous and when we arrived we were greeted by wall to wall sunshine and lush greenery, definitely puts you in a great mood right from the very start.
Now this was just the view from the carpark...
This is the sight that greeted us the moment we stepped into the sales area...
They have some plants for sale by the area at the entrance but the nursery is also composed of several polytunnels that are all full of plant treasures. Each polytunnel is like an Aladdin's cave!
Impatiens omeiana 'Ice Storm'
Impatiens omeiana
The Petasites cannot hide what lies beyond...
A basket? No, we need a trolley!
Rodgersia
A stock plant of Schefflera taiwaniana (Edward Needham form)
This is probably my favorite polytunnel, bananas and succulents, contrast yet complemental...
Echeverias and Dudleyas
Echeverias and Graptopetalums
The Shade tunnel with several treasures...
Podophyllum delavayi
Podophyllum delavayi flowers
Mitella sp.
Fatsia polycarpa (Edward Needham form)
Several plant treasures are also dotted around, here's a few more...
Epimedium perralchicum
Sonchus fruticosus
Anyone hazard a guess at naming each plant in this photo?
Schefflera delavayi
Schefflera taiwaniana (Edward Needham form)
Some of the plants growing happily in our garden for the past few years have been originally sourced from this nursery. The owners Clive and Julie are passionate nurserymen (and women!!) who continue to source and propagate rare and unusual plants, which eventually filter on to other enthusiasts (like us!).So what did we go home with in the end? You know what, I can't remember exactly but there's a Pseudopanax, Rubus, Rodgersia, the Mitella in the photo above, Begonias, Asarums, and few more bits and pieces. Our visit there was just the start of our holiday so by the time we were on our way home the boot of our car looked like this:
And quite a good chunk of that lot are from them! It's a happy haul!
Mark :-)
www.hardyexotics.co.uk
