plants and flowers of Croatia

 

When my husband Wayne suggested we visit Croatia, I was not particularly impressed or interested.  I  knew nothing about the country located along the coast across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.  

Turns out, the country is a stunning mix of limestone cliffs plunging into blue-green waters, mountains,  rocks, and lush plants.  The coastline regularly sees winds over 200 kilometres per hour, but there is none of the downed trees and missing roofs that plagued Prince Edward Island after sub-tropical storm Fiona blew through at windspeeds of over 130 km last September.  The Croatian buildings are built to withstand those winds - built with stone and tile roofs that don't blow off.  Now, I am impressed.

Here is a list of some of the cool plants I found:

Huge palm trees in Split - the climate in the south is Mediterranian, with palms, tall thin cypress trees, lavender, and figs.

The palm trees big and small support their own ecosystems, with tiny plans growing in the cracks between the bark.

Another big palm 

Cupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean or Italian cypress, is a native conifer of the Eastern Mediterranean, the cradle of Western civilization. It grows 20 to 30 feet tall, with aromatic wood and scaled leaves. Cypresses are long-lived trees.

The Italian cypress is hardy from USDA zone 7 to 9.  PEI is not the place for this tree.

Look closely at the trunk and you will see me.

above - baby figs can be seen growing close to the stem.

left - fig seedlings are everywhere - this one was growing in Krkr national park.

Oleander grows everywhere in colours of white, pale pink, and red.  Cultivated on lawns, and growing wild along roadsides, the profusion of flowers is stunning.  Unfortunately, no scent though.

The tiniest flower I found growing on a mossy rock in Rastoke amid rushing waterfalls.

Agave plants in Zadar.  These also grow everywhere.

On the road from Dubrovnik, from a high point, we could see valleys cultivated with fruit trees and vegetables, striped with irigation canals.

A type of snap dragon finds a foothold in cracks of an old limestone wall in Split.  Life is everywhere, even in the most inhospitable places!

Huge old London Plane trees in Zagreb and throughout Croatia.  I love the patterns of the bark.

Fragrant rosemary grows 3-4 feet high.

No fear of the cold here.

Thick ropes of ivy climbs a tree, using small supports to hang on to the trunk.

We didn't get to the botanical garden in Zagreb - it closed at 1:30 (??) but this is a view of the flowers in a local park.

huge bunch of Russian Sage

Passionflower vine.  Those who named this plant saw great symbolism in this flower, seeing a representation of the passion of Christ at the crucifiction.  The three parts of the style represent the three nails that attached Jesus to the cross.  The 5 anthers represent his 5 wounds.  The many filaments are the crown of thorns.  And the 10 petals are the 10 loyal apostles.

not a plant - but this was the coolest thing.  Half-way up a church tower in Cortula, at about 50 metres high, a mama seagull and her two babies hung out on a narrow ledge.  Made me dizzy to think about it, but it is a spot safe from preditors, although not safe from a long fall.