Trip to Tenerife, Canary Islands

Happy New Year to all!
 
To get away from the cold and the persistent rain, I went to Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife over the Christmas and I thought I would let you know what I saw, plant wise, over there.  Temps were around 23 degrees during the day and about 5 degrees colder at night during my stay.
 
I went to visit the Botanic Gardens and Drago Tree Park along with a trip up Tiede Mountain.
Some of the highlights of the B.G were an enormous Rubber Tree (but named Coussapoa dealbata), the red and mauvy coloured adontonemas in full flower, a magnificent Brugmansia sp., Heliconias in flower, a fully laden avocado tree, calliandra in brilliant red bottlebrush flowers, spectacular cordylines (Ti plants), colourful displays of cannas and some lily species and of course every type of palm and banana from around the globe. 
 
The Drago Tree is reputed to be oldest tree in the world, up to 2000 years.  The local council have planted a garden  to surround this spectacular tree with many of the native plants mainly agaves and aenioums (I never knew that there were so many varieties), cactus/succulents, echium varieties and lots more that I have forgotten.
 
Overall, the roadside plantings are nearly as impressive and colourful as many gardens.  The flowering Spathodea campanulata lined most streets and there was a bignonia sp. ??(yellow/orange umbrels) climbing over everything that didn't move.
 
Sorry if I didn't get all the names correct and maybe off topic but I have only my aloes in flower and the ever flowering ivy leafed pelargoniums, my pyracanta berries are being eaten by the birds so needless to say, I was impressed with the plants and colour of Tenerife.
 
Happy gardening (that is, when the rain stops)
Maria
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