Spring is an ideal time to visit the island of Lanzarote, as this is when much of the countryside is carpeted with wild flowers. What little rainfall this arid island receives tends to fall between January and March, paving the way for numerous species of flora to make their annual appearance.
As the temperatures begin to rise again, fields of daisies, poppies and Canarian stock burst into bloom. They last for only a few weeks though, as the consistently warm weather soon exhausts the plants until the next year.
The best places to see these colourful carpets are in the north of the island, around the Valley of a Thousand Palms or in the central region around the town of Mozaga. Visitors who come at this time of year are always delighted by the sight of scarlet poppies waving in the wind.
To enjoy this short-lived season, it is best to hire a car and head off for a day’s exploration, armed with a camera. Lanzarote car hire offers an affordable way of getting out into the scenic countryside, quite apart from the independence it gives travellers to visit the many attractions on the island.
Within the main resorts there is plenty of colour all year round, as the main thoroughfares and public spaces are liberally planted with a huge range of semi-tropical and tropical plants. Particularly abundant are the gardens adorning most of the hotels in Lanzarote, which are lovingly tended.
Species that thrive with little assistance include the bird of paradise flower or strelitzia, which is used along many of the roads on the island. Hibiscus is often cultivated as a form of hedge, as it can take quite harsh pruning and shaping.
Bougainvillea introduces bright splashes of colour wherever it is used, although it is not always ideal when planted by the pools of Lanzarote holiday villas as the petals often get blown into the water. It is particularly well-adapted to the desert climate of Lanzarote though, as it requires very little watering to thrive.
Perhaps the most successful plants of all to be frequently grown on the island are cacti. The spiny species has mastered the dry climate to such an extent that it can survive with no additional irrigation than that which nature supplies. Many of the cacti that are grown as ornamental plants do produce flowers, especially following the rain. Some of which look more like lilies, with large trumpet shaped blooms hanging off the spiny column.
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