34 FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF MADEIRA 



beautiful jungle of flowers. The garden is devoid 

 of any fine trees, except for the ficus trees, a few 

 oaks, and a stray cypress or two which surround 

 the Dependence, which was formerly a private 

 house ; it stands at the very edge of the pre- 

 cipitous cliff, where the unceasing roar of the surf 

 rings in one's ears as it dashes almost against its 

 very walls. In front of the main building are some 

 large cabbage palms, affording welcome shade and 

 shelter, which have made astonishingly rapid 

 growth, as only ten years ago they were merely 

 items in flower-beds, and I little thought that on 

 my second visit to the island, some seven years 

 later, they would have become an important feature 

 in the garden. 



Early in December, when the whole island is 

 fresh and green after the autumn rains, and 

 presents more the aspect of spring than late autumn 

 or even winter, the view from the garden is sur- 

 prisingly beautiful. The cliffs have broad stretches 

 of the brilliant red-flowered Aloe arbor escens, with 

 its large rosettes of glaucous grey-green leaves, 

 which makes the plant always ornamental, even 

 when it is not adorned with its hundreds of scarlet 

 flower spikes. Some people say it was always 

 indigenous to the island, and found its home in the 



