Story Behind the Photo: Pride of Madeira

Whenever I travel to new places I tend to notice the landscaping, noting the trees and plants that are different than those I have at home. Since I’ve lived my entire life in the humid Southeast, the landscape of California was entirely new to me. I first noticed that the native plants there were different than those of the Southeast when exploring the Gardens of Alcatraz.  I had only seen succulents in dish gardens at home and was astounded to see plants such as the aeonium arboreum in clusters the size of my kitchen table. I continued to be surprised by beautiful flowers and plants that were only available at florist shops at home, as well as some plants that were entirely new to me. One such plant is the Pride of Madeira or echium candicans featured in the photo above. Absolutely beautiful with flowers ranging from periwinkle to a deep purple, this plant was photographed in Sausalito, California.