Category: Garden

Both my gardens and ones I visit

Posted on

New Bromeliads + A Favorite Road

Bromeliad Pink in a Shady Area of My Garden
 I think it will do very well here & I have 6 of them!
 Atenas, Costa Rica
Bromeliad Red which I really liked, but as you see it gets some sunlight
 thus I hope it makes it. I got only 1 of these.  Bromeliads prefer shade.
Atenas, Costa Rica 

Road behind Banana Azul Hotel in the Caribbean of Costa Rica
The photo & quote that I shared with the mission team today + a Scripture verse with their’s.
Photo made in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica 
¡Pura Vida!
Posted on

Aloe Vera Blooming?

Aloe Vera with Bloom
My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

This particular aloe plant was one of only 2 or 3 plants in my garden when I moved into this house 3 years ago this April. When I planted my big garden I moved this into a big pot, first on my terrace and then here at the end of the sidewalk of my wrap-around garden, the punctuation mark if you please! First the pot was here, then it outgrew the pot and I placed it in the ground and so maybe that is why it is blooming; it likes the ground better than a pot? Or it drains better and they do prefer dry soil. Anyway, I thought this was interesting because I have had aloe plants most of my adult life in TX, TN & FL and this is the first I have seen bloom! Reminds me of a cactus bloom and it may be a type of cactus. Of course it is also important to me as part of my medicine cabinet, my source of treatment of all burns, both physical and sunburn. There is nothing better on the market! And I have another aloe plant not quite this big, plus this one is growing babies! Stop by for a baby aloe!


an interesting article in

Joy Us garden

garden. create. make the world a more beautiful place.

¡Pura Vida!



Posted on

Captured at Home This Week

Desert Rose
Is becoming a favorite while it blooms!
Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Heliconia
Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Heliconia – Fewer of these blooming now.
Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Red Ginger
My most faithful year around bloomer!
Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

My photo gallery FLORA & FOREST

Posted on

Early Bloomers

Our “winter”  or el invierno (rainy season) generally goes through November with “summer” or el verano (dry season) starting in December, with some flowers like the yellow & orange below not blooming until January. Even though we still have some rain (less now) the flowers indicate summer. It has been a very wet rainy season, so I guess a very dry season coming!  🙂

Bougainvillea
 Atenas, Costa Rica

Yellow Bells 
 Atenas, Costa Rica

Triquitraque 
 Atenas, Costa Rica

Once de Abril 
 Atenas, Costa Rica
Flowers are restful to look at. 
They have neither emotions nor conflicts. 

~Sigmund Freud


All of the above flowers snapped on my cellphone in my personal garden yesterday. Love it!

And for more flowers, see my Flora & Forest photo galleries! Beauty year around here!


¡Pura Vida!
Posted on

Chachalacas in Guarumo Tree

Two Gray-headed Chachalacas in the Guarumo Tree at my Terrace
 My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica
Note that the orange blooming tree is more than 100 yards away on a hill.

Closer view of one Gray-headed Chachalaca 
 My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica


I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes. 

~Charles Lindbergh

And since it is Thanksgiving in the states, my American friends can pretend these are my backyard turkeys!  🙂  Though Thursday is just another normal day here! Unfortunately a few businesses are doing “Black Friday” here. Anything to make a buck! And a lot of these rich American expats here still can’t turn loose of the states and feel obligated to buy a $40+ imported American turkey and try to recreate an American Thanksgiving here. Not me. Just a regular day thursday!  So, happy Thanksgiving or happy regular day to all my readers!  🙂 
Cover art
And for the fellow birders, I just learned today that the Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology just released a Costa Rica Pack, so now you can use it to identify birds in Costa Rica and I’m hoping it will be better than the local app for identifying birds, but either way I will have two choices now!  You have to download the Costa Rica Pack separately to the app. Just got it today, so no time to test it yet except for one bird from the terrace.  Merlin ID is free from your app store and then within it you download the free Costa Rica Pack that includes info and photos of 750 Costa Rica Birds! Cool!
Posted on

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler joined me for Breakfast Friday
 My garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

I believe it is a migratory male from the states. The year-around male here has an orange/rust colored head. The female is usually lighter colored than this. This is not an uncommon bird, but all species are fun to see and to have in decent light for a photo. The next shot is not as good, but he’s flying and that to me is always fun to catch!   🙂

Yellow Warbler 
 Atenas, Costa Rica

My Costa Rica Birds photo gallery for more bird photos

THANKS for sending your birds south for your winter as our summer begins!  ~Charlie

North America has more than 50 species of warblers, but few combine brilliant color and easy viewing quite like the Yellow Warbler. In summer, the buttery yellow males sing their sweet whistled song from willows, wet thickets, and roadsides across almost all of North America. The females and immatures aren’t as bright, and lack the male’s rich chestnut streaking, but their overall warm yellow tones, unmarked faces, and prominent black eyes help pick them out.   ~The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Posted on

Nat Geo names Costa Rica as Happy Place

Read about it in the online National Geographic article:
These are the World’s Happiest Places

NOTE: It may require you to log into your Nat Geo account to read the whole article.

or for an overview of how they measured happiness and 9 ways to be happy, see these videos

My garden is one of my “Happy Places” here.  🙂
As is my total Photo Gallery!  What makes you happy? 

Other organizations & universities have listed “happiest countries” similarly and always Costa Rica is in the top 3! It is nice living where people are happy and not complaining all the time like in states. It adds to me being healthy as does the universal healthcare here! “What? Me Worry?” 

¡Pura Vida!