Gulf Stream Gardens

[kar999]

A few weeks ago there was a thread about the impact of the Gulf Stream on the climate in South West Scotland. When I visited the area at the end of May we went to the Logan Botanicial Gardens on the Mull of Galloway near Stranraer.

These palms were growing freely outdoors at the same latitude as the Aleutian Islands in South West Alaska.

More pictures here:

My Gallery - Logan Gardens

[SP1986]

Pretty damn impressive that! Fern trees are very unusual in the UK, but there are loads there it seems! Really good stuff!

[WBSH]

It can suprise you what the gulf stream does to plant life and how it can effect peoples look on things. Especially cliches such as you can't grow palms anywhere other than the med. But those pictures a good proof that anywhere around the west coasts of the British Isles is mild enough for palms and tree ferns.

These are my palms that we bought with limited funds. As you can see they are possible to grow...

WBSH

[SP1986]

It can suprise you what the gulf stream does to plant life and how it can effect peoples look on things. Especially cliches such as you can't grow palms anywhere other than the med. But those pictures a good proof that anywhere around the west coasts of the British Isles is mild enough for palms and tree ferns.

These are my palms that we bought with limited funds. As you can see they are possible to grow...

WBSH

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That Trachycarpus on the bottom of the picture looks very healthy indeed, considering its planted in the ground at such an early stage, nice one! <_<

[Guest Sir Seany]

These palms were growing freely outdoors at the same latitude as the Aleutian Islands in South West Alaska.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The correct saying, is as the same latitude as Churchill - Canada, the Aleutians are alot more seasonable and i have heard the expression before

I remember watching about this on British Isles - A Natural Hsitory with Alan Titchmarsh, sure surprised me back then, but it isn't really that odd if you think about it

[Osbourne One-Nil]

Even further north, the National Tust have a garden at Inverewe which has very similar plants growing there, despite being just west of Ullapool. I'm a miserable sod though, and I find gardens like this strange, as they just don't feel right to me, and I like landscapes to feel right.

[Guest Sir Seany]

and I like landscapes to feel right.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:lol:

They are strange OON, but nothing wrong with them, though not exactly fitting into the usual look of things in the landscape, i do find things like this facinating. I remember Bodnant Gardens when i went last year, that was nice, it wasn't very tropical but gardens like it in general are odd looking landscapes, hence landscape gardens

[SP1986]

I guess it's only odd when you don't live with them everyday. I find it normal, and would like to see it introduced more widely, but know that that will never happen due to peoples view of change

[Guest Sir Seany]

I guess it's only odd when you don't live with them everyday. I find it normal, and would like to see it introduced more widely, but know that that will never happen due to peoples view of change

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I suppose thats a good point, though we practically have a landscape garden, before there was a big concrete block taking up a quarter of the garden, four years later it looks a little bit more like a garden. We have had to move about seven tons of topsoil about by shovel and hand, that was fun

[Osbourne One-Nil]

Ah, but this is my realm....this is what I wrote my Masters dissertation on...how landscapes can affect the mood etc etc.

[WBSH]

That Trachycarpus on the bottom of the picture looks very healthy indeed, considering its planted in the ground at such an early stage, nice one!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thankyou, I always wanted to know what that was. I assumed it was some sort of Canary Date palm but I think you know more than me Stephan!

That particular palm started life in a pot for the first couple of years but last year when we were making our med border we decided to put it in there and its been going from strengh to strengh ever since!

This Algarve is doing very well, all the others died unfortunatly during the snowy spell but this one must have been fairly hardy.

WBSH

[SP1986]

Ah yes they're familar but the name has escaped me, they were introduced from Mexico, and brought over to europe and are seen particularly in semi arid places such as Tenerife, Malta, Egypt and central Spain! Lovely plants they are!

[kar999]

I'm a miserable sod though, and I find gardens like this strange, as they just don't feel right to me, and I like landscapes to feel right.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There were traditional parts to Logan Gardens such as this bluebell woodland. (Notice also the Giant Gunnery at the end)

[Osbourne One-Nil]

That's much more like it. I don't have anything against tropical gardens at all, but they just don't do anything for me outside of the tropics.

[SP1986]

I wil shoot my opinion in the head here, but I do actually agree with you Oz, If we however had a 2 year drought, painted all out houses white and replaced them with red terracotta roofing then they may look good here.

(in that instance they may look good in lower Heswall)

[flagpole]

And if we knocked our houses down and built mud huts, then native African plants wouldn't look out of place.

Not going to happen though.

Nice Bluebells Kar

[Osbourne One-Nil]

I used to live in a mudhut in Suffolk, so watch your tongue.