BLOOMING MARVELLOUS PLANT AT UPTON
COUNTRY PARK
A rare
plant more at home in mountain ranges of South America
is blossoming in unusual surroundings at Upton Country
Park.
Estate
workers from Borough of Poole’s Leisure Services team
have nurtured the exotic Puya plant which is native to
southern Chile.
Upton
Country Park is believed to be one of only a handful of
places in the UK to have successfully cultivated the
strange-looking plant.
People
visiting the country park can now get a rare chance to
see the exotic Puya plant in full bloom..
Justine
Hawkes, Senior Open Spaces Ranger, Leisure Services,
Borough of Poole, said; “We are thrilled to have
successfully grown such a rare plant at Upton Country
Park. The National Botanic Gardens of Wales has grown a
Puya plant in a greenhouse, but we think ours is more
special because it is flowering outdoors, which presents
a greater challenge.
“It is an amazing
plant with turquoise blue flower and orange stamens and
looks almost artificial. The plant’s flowers are not
fully out yet but when they do they will be blooming
right along the spikes. People should come to Upton
Country Park and see it in all it glory while they still
can.”
The
Puya (Puya alpestris) was planted at Upton about five
years ago and has grown to height of four feet tall.
A
relative of the pineapple, it is normally found in the
mountains and foothills of the Andes
and is used to growing in desert environments.
Upton
Country Park offers more than 100 acres of woodland,
parkland and shoreline and is open to the public every
day from 9am till dusk.
Contact:
Lisa Gaskell, Communications,
Borough of Poole on tel: 01202 633060 or email:
l.gaskell@poole.gov.uk
Photographs of the plant are available - for high res.
copies or to arrange a time to take your own photographs
please contact Lisa Gaskell on tel: 633060.
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