Although a month ago the weather in Connecticut was still very summer-like we headed to another sunny location, Bermuda. Bermuda is one of our favorite places to visit as it relatively close by compared to other island destinations. It is a two-hour flight but our preferred mode of transportation is to cruise there. The Bermuda archipelago has a great variety of native, endemic, and invasive flora species. Since the 1500s many plants have been introduced to Bermuda, some to much detriment. In my next blog posting I will discuss the species that are of concern for the island but for now I will share many of the beautiful plants that can be seen there.
Our first foray after docking at King’s Wharf at the Royal Naval Dockyard was the Bermuda Botanical Gardens. Located in Paget Parish about a mile outside of Hamilton, it was established in 1898 as a public garden. In 1921 it became the Agricultural Experiment Station and then, in 1958, due to an increase in tourism and ornamental horticulture it became the Bermuda Botanical Garden.
Open year-round (no snow days in Bermuda!), this park has something for every visitor. There are areas devoted to roses, daylilies, hibiscus, conifers, palm trees, sub-tropical fruits, cacti, orchids, an aviary and more. There is even an aromatic sensory garden designed for the visually impaired although it may be enjoyed by anyone. The first tree that caught our attention upon entering the garden was this large banyan, Ficus benghalensis. A member of the fig species, it is epiphytic, beginning its life by germinating in the crack or crevice of a host tree. Also called the strangler fig, it then sends aerial prop roots down to the ground which envelop its host to the point of the death.
Walking a bit further into the gardens we found a section that is devoted to many hybrids of hibiscus that were originally brought to Bermuda from China. Hibiscus is an introduced species which has naturalized, meaning that it will reproduce on its own but does not become invasive.
The four-section formal garden has a 17th-century English Parterre garden, a Persian garden, a Tudor-style children’s garden, and a serene Japanese Zen garden bordered by vibrant pink plumeria hedges.
One of my favorites sections of the botanical garden was a cool and shady area that contained primordial vegetation called Cycads. Among these plants that superficially resemble palms were the large leaved Philodendron shrub, Philodendron bipinnatifidum, and an Abyssinian banana, Ensete ventricosum, that easily dwarfed me. Not really difficult to do, I know, but this plant was easily 10’ tall.
The subtropical fruit garden contained the familiar in the form of bananas, avocado, and citrus and the unfamiliar in the form of papaya trees, whose growth habit reminded me of Brussels sprouts!
So many beautiful plants were not contained to specific areas but were spread around the 35 acres just waiting to be discovered. There were chenille plants, Acalypha hispida, with its soft hanging cat-tail looking panicles. Pink and yellow shrimp plants, Justicia brandegeeana, are evergreen shrubs that are highly attractive to hummingbirds. Another evergreen shrub, Sanchezia speciosa has tubular yellow flowers that extend out of reddish bracts. And of course, what subtropical garden would be complete without bird-of-paradise, Strelitzia reginae?
Day 2 found us at the far east side of Bermuda on the island of St. George’s, one of the larger of 181 islands that make up the Bermuda archipelago. St. George’s has a great public garden, Somers Garden, named for Admiral Sir George Somers, the founder of Bermuda. A fountain sits in the middle of this lovely space, picturesque turquoise stairs lead in from one side and there is also a quintessential moongate, a symbol of good luck.
The trees in this garden are all labeled with their common names and species, always a benefit to visitors. Royal palms, Roystonea regina, line the walkways, there are Indian rubber trees, Ficus elastica, and a Bermuda palmetto, Sabal bermudiana, grew in front of a very large Norfolk Island pine, Araucaria excelsa.
There were also a large variety of flowering plants. Lantana, Lantana camera, an annual familiar to many of us, grew to heights not often seen in Connecticut. The lantana flowers were yellow, white, purple, and variegated. The white and purple-flowered plants are weeping lantana, Lantana montevidensis.
There were more sanchezia, sunny Mexican flame flowers, Senecio confusus, and the deep red-orange flowers of West Indian Jasmine, Ixora.
And a large selection of croton, Codiaeum variegatum, also in sizes way beyond our container houseplants.
Our third day in dock was spent at the Royal Naval dockyard. Built by thousands of convicts in the early 19th century as an anchorage for the British Royal fleet, it remained an active part of the British naval force until 1951. In 1982 it became a National Museum and is open to the public.
The flora that is found here is of a less formal nature than the Botanical and Somers gardens. Plants grow where they like, perhaps a better representation of Bermuda’s nature. Among them is prickly pear, Opuntia sp., a mounding coastal cactus native to Bermuda that is very effective as a defensive planting around fortifications, aloe vera, and dwarf palmetto, Sabal minor.
Tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, is grown as an annual in Connecticut as it does not survive our winters but it thrives in Bermuda. This specimen was inundated with yellow milkweed aphids, a sight that is not uncommon to Connecticut gardeners.
Anyone that has had a poinsettia in their home during the holidays will appreciate this next plant, the Mexican fire plant, Euphorbia heterophylla. Also known as wild poinsettia, this hardy native plant has bluish-green bracts with splashes of bright orange-red at the bases. Although small, it caught my attention as I walked by.
White Egyptian star flowers, Penta sp., rose periwinkles, Catharanthus roseus, deep pink oleander, Nerium oleander, and spider lilies, Hymenocallis sp. were all to be freely found.
So many of these species were introduced either intentionally or unintentionally by humans, animals, or weather-related events. In November I will write about the continued effects of these introductions to the islands of Bermuda.
Susan Pelton, all images by S. Pelton, UConn Home & Garden Education Center
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