Our Spanish Dream PART 38 Finally seeing the Imperial Palm
Our second attempt at seeing the famous Huerto del Cura was much more successful. On a beautiful spring day we headed back to Elche and again parked near the hospital as we knew that was close to the gardens. This time we followed the route the other way round so we got there within a few minutes. We paid a reasonable entry fee and spent a couple of hours wandering around the beautiful gardens. Well laid out with information on the plants and their origins it is a place that will interest non-gardeners too. It’s not a huge area but the way the paths meander between the flower beds, ponds, fountains, sculptures and palms gives the impression that it is a much larger garden.
There are many ancient palms within the gardens, varieties I have seen nowhere else. Beautiful tropical flowers and a real sense of being away from it all even though it’s in the centre of a bustling city. The history surrounding the gardens is evident and yet it felt timeless. The famous Imperial Palm itself is supported by a lot of metalwork. I’m told that normally this type of palm develops shoots at a young age, so effectively at the base of the tree. This tree, now around 170 years old, did things a little differently and was a single trunk until about 60 years old so the new shoots sprouted at a height of 2 meters up the trunk. The seven trucks radiating out from the ‘father’ trunk are themselves now over 100 years old and it is these that are supported to stop them breaking away under their own weight. The strange arrangement of the trunks looks a little like a giant palm candelabra.
Definitely a place worth a visit, but allow plenty of time to find it!
