V714 / 8 – 22 June 2017 / 14 night / The Canary Islands and Madeira Key Highlights: Queen Victoria’s first ever Festival of Flowers cruise. Leading gardening and floral experts will join Queen Victoria including: Gay Search, one of Britain’s best-known gardening presenters, writers and lecturers and Christine Wright, National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies demonstrator and a Gold Medal winner at Chelsea Flower Show. An overnight stay in the floral paradise of Madeira – an island renowned for its endemic fauna, flora and landscapes which are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site Bespoke shore excursions to the many beautiful gardens of these Atlantic Isles from Palace gardens, National Parks and Flower Markets through to the fascinating and artistic world of Cesar Manrique and an evening dinner at the Quinta Jardins do Lago botanical garden hotel. Flower Arranging classes on board – whether novice to avid gardener our expert on board Florists and specialist speaker Christine Wright, will help guests fine tune their flower arranging skills. Chewton Glen and Exbury Gardens pre-cruise stay - a luxury country house hotel stay set in 130 acres with a tour of the hotel gardens and a meet and greet with the chef, plus a visit to what is often called the finest garden of its type in the UK – the famous Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.
Transcript
V714 / 8 – 22 June 2017 / 14 night / The Canary Islands and Madeira
Key Highlights:
Queen Victoria’s first ever Festival of Flowers cruise.
Leading gardening and floral experts will join Queen Victoria including: Gay Search, one of Britain’s
best-known gardening presenters, writers and lecturers and Christine Wright, National Association of
Flower Arrangement Societies demonstrator and a Gold Medal winner at Chelsea Flower Show.
An overnight stay in the floral paradise of Madeira – an island renowned for its endemic fauna, flora
and landscapes which are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Bespoke shore excursions to the many beautiful gardens of these Atlantic Isles from Palace gardens,
National Parks and Flower Markets through to the fascinating and artistic world of Cesar Manrique
and an evening dinner at the Quinta Jardins do Lago botanical garden hotel.
Flower Arranging classes on board – whether novice to avid gardener our expert on board Florists
and specialist speaker Christine Wright, will help guests fine tune their flower arranging skills.
Chewton Glen and Exbury Gardens pre-cruise stay - a luxury country house hotel stay set in 130 acres with a tour of the hotel gardens and a meet and greet with the chef, plus a visit to what is often called the finest garden of its type in the UK – the famous Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.
Gay Search - devised and presented the two BBC 2 series ‘Front Gardens’, worked
with the late Geoff Hamilton on First Time Garden and ‘Old Garden New
Gardener’ and for 6 years was a regular presenter on ‘Gardeners World’. She has
written many gardening books, including ‘Gardening from Scratch’, ‘Gardening
without a Garden’ and in 2004 ‘Delia’s Kitchen Garden’ the best selling gardening
book of the year. She was gardening editor of Sainsbury’s Magazine for 13 years,
has written for many other magazines and newspapers and has given many
lectures for the RHS and gardening / horticultural clubs in the UK and abroad.
Christine Wright - National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies
demonstrator, Christine demonstrates at a variety of clubs and associations for
beginners through to advanced Flower Arrangers. She is a keen competitor and
has been the recipient of numerous notable awards including: Gold medal winner
at Chelsea, Silver Gilt medals at RHS Malvern Show and two RHS Shows at
Westminster Hall. Christine has also been on the design team for three Flower
Festivals at Winchester, Portsmouth and Salisbury Cathedrals as well as Romsey
Abbey. In 2004, Christine attained third place in class at the World Show and
Competitions in Dublin.
On Board Flower Arranging Classes - Whether a novice or avid gardener, our
expert on board Florists will help guests fine tune their flower arranging skills in
our interactive workshops. Throughout the ships, our Interior Designer and on
board Florists will create bespoke flower displays with the destination in mind.
Fresh flower arrangements can also be created for all occasions from birthdays,
anniversaries through to wedding celebrations.
On Board – Expert Gardeners, Speakers and Workshops
MADEIRA:-
Farmers Market and Botanical Gardens – Guests can experience the scents, colours, flavours and traditions of life in Madeira on a panoramic drive around Funchal’s most beautiful sights before visiting the centre of local life, the Mercado dos Lavradores, or farmers’ market. A dedicated guide and sellers wearing traditional brightly coloured traditional costume will talk through the tropical fruits, vegetables and fragrant blooms on offer. Following this, the beautiful Botanical Gardens present a profusion of plants and flowers, from all parts of the world, following paths that wind along the terraces to the herbarium and greenhouses with many rare and indigenous plants.
Floral Shore Excursions in every Port of Call
Palheiro & Monte Palace Gardens - two of the most beautiful and best known gardens in Madeira.
The gardens of Quinta do Palheiro were laid out in the eighteenth century and some of the original
plantations survive today, including the camellia avenues. Many tropical and sub-tropical plants have
been introduced, making the gardens a fascinating example of Madeira’s fauna and an ideal setting to
enjoy tea in the delightful Tea House of the Quinta. The Tropical Monte Palace gardens, dating back
to XVIII century features a comprehensive collection of beautiful trees from all over the world, several
lagoons with exotic fish “Koi”.
Tour and Dinner at Quinta Jardins do Lago - a delightful dinner at the elegant, luxury botanical garden hotel - Quinta Jardins do Lago. Built in the 18th century, the lush gardens are breathtaking with more than 500 different species of plants which are unique in their variety and natural beauty. With an area of 2.5 hectares full of wonderful examples of rare species and old trees as well as many colourful and delicate flowers, the Flora of ‘Quinta Jardins do Lago‘ is a rich and diverse collection and is also home to “Colombo” the 57 year-old giant tortoise.
The Heart of La Palma - The National Park of La Caldera de Taburiente offers spectacular vistas. Located within the National Park, the 5 mile wide volcanic reach up to the mountain ridge runs from the north to the south of the island. The crater was not actually formed as a result of volcanic activity, but from subsequent erosion, and it is forested with the exceptional fire-resistant Canary Pine.
TENERIFE:-
Gardens of the Valley – the colour of the Canary Islands comes to life with these three best-known
gardens. The wonderfully laid out Botanical Garden was created n 1788 to form an area where plants, shrubs and flowers, brought by the Conquistadors from the New World, could acclimate to Spanish soil. Many of the plants in the garden are the original specimens and the centre-piece is a huge South American fig tree whose enormous branches and roots have created an outlandish tree house. The Risco Bello Gardens are a unique style of garden in complete contrast to the Botanical Garden where garden enthusiasts can appreciate the attractive waterfalls and colourful terraces of local flowers. The Orchid Gardens of Sitio Litre is part of the history of Puerto de la Cruz in that many distinguished visitors such as Agatha Christie, Alexander von Humbold and Marianne North have visited this site. The main attraction is the largest collection of orchids in the Canary Islands, the oldest Dragon Tree in Puerto de la Cruz and the new Bonsai exhibition.
GRAN CANARIA:-
Botanical Garden and Caves Valley - Almost 43% of the territory of Gran Canaria is protected with a flora unique in the world. The first stop will be“Jardín Viera & Clavijo” the largest botanical garden in Spain, consisting of approximately two thousand plant species in the archipelago, of which more than five hundred are indigenous to the island. The journey will continue to the Barranco de Guayadeque, one of the most beautiful valleys of the island. Learn that the Guanches (aborigines of the Canaries) later used caves as dwellings and for rituals.
Hiking – Azuaje, The Hidden Valley - this valley is a part of the Doramas Natural Park, a natural protected area. The walking route follows , most of the time, a canyon with a small spring that favours the rich vegetation growing throughout the Valley. The valley becomes narrower, with side walls of more than 100 metres high and has a large number of endemic plants, which include some trees from the Laurisilva forest, an ancient forest unique to the Macaronesia region. The ghostly ruins of an old small thermal hotel can be found at the bottom of the Valley which gives an air of adventure.
LANZAROTE:-
The Magic of Manrique – a tour which delves into the artistic world of Cesar Manrique. A painter, architect, builder and sculptor, he was also an ecologist, loathed all signs of modern construction and was the most important artist in the Canary Islands. The Jameos del Agua cave shows the fascinating result of volcanic activity combined with Cesar Manrique’s architectural talent – a spot where little, blind crabs, unique in the world can be found only in this salt-water lagoon. Another of Cesar Manrique’s creations: el Monumento al Campesino (the Monument to the Peasant), can be seen which pays tribute to the centuries of farm work. The highlight is Manrique’s home, which epitomises his true talent – a house half submerged in volcanic bubbles, painted in dazzling white and jet black throughout and illustrates the 18
th century lava flow on which the house is built.
Hidden Lanzarote – This tour takes in the old capital Teguise, the breathtaking views from Haria,
the fascinating Aloe Vera Farm and Manrique’s Cactus Garden. The Aloe vera plant grows exceptionally well in Lanzarote and is used for a multitude of purposes from preventing wound infection to being a valuable ingredient of skincare and guests will have the opportunity to try some aloe juice or liqueur. Manrique’s Jardin de Cactus is filled with over 1,500 cacti from more than 100 different species found in Lanzarote, America and Madagascar. The Garden is a stone-built enclosure and provides a stunning background for these unusual plants. It is also in this area that the cochineal beetle has been cultivated. The beetle lives on cacti and its larvae are used to produce the valuable red colourant, cochineal, formerly found in drinks such as Campari.
LISBON:-
Gardens of Lisbon – the mild climate and beauty of its parks and gardens give Lisbon a very
Mediterranean ambience. Two completely different gardens are offered on this tour: King Eduard VII park planted in the early 20
th Century and Ajuda Botanical Garden from the 18
th Century. The Fernery
of King Eduard VII park has spectacular green houses and a large number of beautiful exotic plants and a great variety of tropical species. The renaissance style gardens of Ajuda featured 5000 exotic plants brought from the Portuguese colonial territories in Asia, Africa and South America. At the time this garden was considered the most remarkable in Europe due to the existence of rare plants until then not known here.
