PUSHING THE BORDERS

e interested to hear more about Gran Canaria when you have the time. We are off to Tenerife in a couple of weeks, our favourite island of La Palma is still looking problematic after the Eruption.

Yes, I'm keen to return to La Palma after the eruption to see what a fresh deposit looks like. I was completely fascinated by the event.

Gran Canaria is as interesting as any of islands, I'd say. Hard to pick a favourite over GC, Tenerife and La Palma as they are all so good for different reasons. I love Lanzarote but not so much for walking, more a Manrique thing. La Gomera is fine, wasn't so keen on Fuerteventura, not been to El Hierro yet. There are some absolutely fabulous walks - one of them I'd say is my favourite walk in the Canaries, around one of the high spots called Roque Nublo approaching from the back. Like most of the islands it is dry in the south, wetter further north and in some of the barrancos. Pine forests in the middle, huge barrancos. Highest point is a bit lower at 1900m but there is a lot of it. Las Palmas de GC is a big city, not so keen on that, but a nice botanical garden on the outskirts. On the western corner there is the best cactus garden I have visited, a place called Cactualdea. Lots of history, too - several guanche sites etc. More wild Phoenix canariensis than the other islands - lots of big old groves all over the place. Although sad to see so much opuntia and agave taking over, it really is a problem there.

I've still got quite a lot of exploring to do - lots of walks I haven't tried yet. Easy to travel around - big motorway down the eastern side, you can get to the top of the island from the bottom in an hour. Getting into the middle is slower beccause of the twisty roads, of course - you certainly need to concentrate! There is one spot, taking GC-60 via a place called Fataga. You are clinging to the sides of the mountain when ahead you can see a mirador on the left at the crown of the bend. 'Must be a nice view ahead' is the thought, but nothing can prepare you for the way the whole of the interior is laid out before you like a giant amphitheatre. Everywhere in the middle of the island is just filled with scenery, craggy peaks, sheer cliffs. Think 'La Masca' on Tenerife but much, much more. The only way Tenerife scores more is the moonscape around Teide. There is a good Rother guide, also a Cicerone. But increasingly there is a lot of stuff online to access via apps. Alltrails etc

After a few goes at staying at a couple of places we finally found what is, for us, the perfect base - San Agustin. 30mins from the airport, quiet, no night life, full of old people, far enough removed from the chavvy places like Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles for them to not impact... Adult only hotel, cheap car hire, really close to the motorway, 2 mins to the beach to soak our weary feet at the end of the day. Windy, though - it did actually stop blowing for an hour one day - it was even calm enough to swim :D Perfect.

A few pics froom our lunch stops. I have a load of pics from past trips if you want to see anything else.




Tenerife in the distance in this next one.

Thanks Paul for that insight into your adventure.
Every canary island has something special to offer in my opinion...we came back from Los gigantes on the 9th January & having never been to the West side of the island it was fantastic, I would however choose the north of tenerife if I were to live there.

Stayed at Los Gigantes a couple of times and liked it. Yes, each of the islands has something to offer although, in the case of Fuerteventura, it is mainly high winds :) Actually there is a great zoo/botanical garden in the middle but, generally, I found it to be a bit scruffy compared to the other islands.

Hi guys first post here!

Hebenstrentia dura ‘Jeannie’ flowering away here. This small plant is a wonderful evergreen perennial that flowers a few times throughout the year



The big news is my huge Agave attenuata is flowering!!





Absolutely thrilled with this, I’m glad it’s doing it now as it’s gotten way too top heavy and there’s some nice pups at the base so it’ll be good to start again with it :D

Correa ‘Marian’s Marvel’ is blooming as well as it does all winter long, absolutely brilliant plant that deserves to be planted much more

The Agave attenuata is spectacular hats off to you, I couldnt even get the seedlings doing! I use to grow a lot of Correa (Winter 09/10 saw them off or badly damaged them) your picture reminded me to try again.

Welcome to the forum - not a bad first post! Where in the world are you, Callum?

Thanks Charlie this plant was rescued from my old work about 6 years ago it had gotten frosted and suffered some bad damage




And thank you Paul I’m based on the isle of Thanet in east Kent.

Great spot to live for exotics! Surrounded by water.

Charlie so far I have managed to keep my greenhouse frost free and the bougainvillea I had from you is still in leaf, so its in with a good chance to flourish in Summer 2023 .

John