Cactus Garden, Cap Roig

And a ... well, not SP, but a portrait provided by my faithful Blip Assistant. I did say the other day that it was time I posted a photo of me, so here you are.

The botanical garden at Cap Roig is a 17-hectare site developed by a Russian colonel and his English wife in 1927, and handed over to the state in 1969 with the proviso that it be maintained as a garden. There are over 1,000 distinct species here, as well as a not-so-ancient castle and a selection of sculptures.

November might seem a strange time of year to visit a botanical garden, but there is still plenty to see. The cactus garden is wonderful, and definitely a future blip site on a sunnier day. But there were also some brilliant yellow irises, luxuriant purple and orange bougainvillea still flowering, roses, mimosa beginning to come into blossom, all in a garden on a headland with beatiful views over the Mediterranean. We last visited over ten years ago, and it was lovely to see it again. Apparently the team of seven gardeners regularly change things, so there's always something new to see. We only visited a fraction of it in the time we had available, so we'll be back.