Architectural Merits

One of the places we visited last week whilst in Barcelona was The Picasso Museum. As you can imagine, typical of most museums photography inside the galleries is not allowed. However the museum itself, consisting of five adjoining medieval palaces converted to become a large art gallery is an attraction in itself, especially to those appreciative of architecture.

Sometimes only one plant is all you need to enhance a space....

Pablo Picasso keeping an eye on his visitors...

The layout, detail, and sense of history the converted palaces conveyed was great to see and feel. We took as much time admiring the carvings and stonework of the museum as much as we did with the art works of Picasso they had on display. The museum had several inner courtyards and each of them had one plant in a pot on display. Being plant lovers we took note of them too.

Livistona? Sabal?

Dracaena draco - not hardy in the UK but you can obtain a similar look with a much hardier Yucca rostrata

Syagrus romanzoffiana

We actually admired these plants almost as much as we did the architecture. How effective they were, as singular plants displayed in their own dedicated space. Their architectural merits were undeniable and they looked great displayed like that. They enhance the space and at the same time the space lets you admire and appreciate them even more, standing there like a sculpture.

So many exotic plants (to the UK and similar climates as the word 'exotic' is relative) out there have undeniable architectural merits, one of the reasons we love them so much! They make their presence known, enhance their space, and look great both on their own or combined with other plants. 

Mark :-)