Re: Sri Lanka and Dianella ensifolia

Tim,

You reminded me that I had read about this garden
before, and I think there may even be a mention of the
current state/chances to visit it in the most current
copy of Lonely Planet Guidebooks on Sri Lanka.  As
usual, I never have the resources with me while taking
my usual visit at whatever local internet cafe is
around, but your local library or bookstore ought to
have a copy on hand.  Jeffrey Bawa's house and gardens
are also mentioned, and open for visiting, including a
coca plant, as a visiting irish couple from Dublin
told me, which all the local spice gardens open to the
public also seem to contain here.  I had no idea that
it grew in tropical lowland conditions, assuming it
was restricted to higher and cooler elevations.

I will be going back for a second day at Peradeniya, 
as one day isn't enough to get through the whole
garden, if you are an obsessive photo and note taker
like I am.  On Sunday I intend to visit the higher
altitude botanic garden auxiliary site, but
unfortunately didn't leave enough time to really
explore the higher altitude montane areas to the south
of Kandy.(I should have skipped those first two days
at the beach, especially as the close in beaches to
Columbo are for the mass market package tourist come
to get their tans while having all the comforts of
Europe.  

It would have been nice to meet up with Gordonia
ceylanica and G. speciosa in person, along with all
the other things that would probably do so well in San
Francisco.  I guess it will have to be a return trip,
or will the Drakensberg Mountains and Kwazulu-Natal
win out?  As well, I certainly would like to see much
more of the fynbos, and explore the eastern cape flora
now that I've seen my first bit of South Africa.

In any case, I foresee a large order to Silverhill
Seeds when I get back to California.  Unfortunately
too late to partake of the Medit-plants forum...

Hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer, or the
beginning of spring, as the case may be.

David Feix
Kandy, Sri Lanka
--- Tim Longville <tim.longville@BTinternet.com>
wrote:
> David -
> 
> Typically fascinating message!
> 
> This probably won't get to you before you leave but
> just in case:
> 
> I've been trying for some time to find out the
> present state (and ownership)
> of what was once a spectacular 'garden island' off
> the coast of Sri Lanka
> (fairly close to Colombo, I think). It was
> originally made (house + garden)
> between the two world wars by the Count de Morny who
> called it Taprobane
> (after an ancient name for Sri Lanka itself, I
> believe) and wrote an
> interesting book about it, unadventurously called
> The Gardens of Taprobane.
> 
> Morny himself seems to have been a rather doubtful
> character. Socially,
> financially and probably sexually as well, and in
> several countries, the
> general opinion of him seems to have been, 'A
> definite chancer.' So,
> unsurprisingly, after his death in the 40s, there
> was a tendency to try to
> sweep the memory of him and his garden under the
> carpet. And the garden
> itself I gather fell into a decline - more or less
> returned to jungle.
> 
> I think the place *may* now have been restored and
> be owned by a
> London-based Sri Lankan lawyer named Desmond de
> Silva, but my attempts to
> establish whether that's really the case have so far
> failed.
> 
> On the off-chance that you happened to be talking to
> someone at Perideniya
> suitably knowledgeable  about local gardening (and
> other!) affairs...??!
> 
> Best wishes, or should that be bon voyage,
> Tim
> 


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