The first thing that you’ll see in our garden is a tall palm-like tree which I now know is called Cordyline autralis but can also be known as a Cabbage Tree, Cabbage Palm, or Torbay Palm. The tree is native to New Zealand but can be found in many gardens around the UK as well as in Europe and although it’s not actually a palm it fits well with that description.
It has a lovely textured bark, large sword-like leaves and in summer blossoms with large bushels of scented white flowers which attract birds and bees. The blossom has died off now so I haven’t been able to capture it in all its glory but these photos should give you an idea.
The tree is around 7 metres tall at the moment which is great for the UK climate but here in the South-East we get quite a bit of sun whilst in the Southern hemisphere it could reach 20 metres. Known to Māori as tī kōuka it has traditionally been used for food and medicine and you can read more about that here.
