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20 Jun 07Blooming Marvellous Plant At Upton Country Park
A rare plant more at home in mountain ranges of South America is blossoming in unusual surroundings at Upton Country Park.
Estate workers from Borough of Poole's Leisure Services team have nurtured the exotic Puya plant which is native to southern Chile.
Upton Country Park is believed to be one of only a handful of places in the UK to have successfully cultivated the strange-looking plant.
People visiting the country park can now get a rare chance to see the exotic Puya plant in full bloom.
Justine Hawkes, Senior Open Spaces Ranger, Leisure Services, Borough of Poole, said: "We are thrilled to have successfully grown such a rare plant at Upton Country Park. The National Botanic Gardens of Wales has grown a Puya plant in a greenhouse, but we think ours is more special because it is flowering outdoors, which presents a greater challenge.
"It is an amazing plant with turquoise blue flower and orange stamens and looks almost artificial. The plant's flowers are not fully out yet but when they do they will be blooming right along the spikes. People should come to Upton Country Park and see it in all it glory while they still can."
The Puya (Puya alpestris) was planted at Upton about five years ago and has grown to height of four feet tall. A relative of the pineapple, it is normally found in the mountains and foothills of the Andes and is used to growing in desert environments.
Upton Country Park offers more than 100 acres of woodland, parkland and shoreline and is open to the public every day from 9am till dusk.
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