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Yes, I know, I’ve done this post before, several times, but every time the flowers are different and I see or photograph them differently. And this time it is a collection of favorite shots from the previous few weeks, late March and early April. Below this one shot for the email version is a gallery of 18 photos, all different flowers and species repeated only when each flower is quite different. Enjoy God’s beautiful jewels from my tropical Costa Rica garden 🙂 . . .
See more in My Home Garden GALLERY.
¡Pura Vida!
The bud of this particular heliconia is almost like a different flower from the fully opened Heliconia and it is one of my favorite. Plus the edge of a Plumbago behind it just adds a hint of contrast to accentuate the brilliant colors.
¡Pura Vida!
And notice that one of the computer-generated “Related” blog posts featured below has the fully bloomed Heliconia, also with a Plumbago contrasting it! 🙂 Or see My Garden Gallery photos.
One of the other blogs I’ve encountered because of their “like” of mine was “The Compulsive Gardener” who copied another blog’s “Six on Saturday” garden blogging phenomena with her own “Six on Saturday–A Flurry of Flowers.” If you want to learn more, go to the originator’s blog: The Propagator. Or to his 6 on Sat collection and Participant Guide. I don’t plan to do this every Saturday, but thought it would be fun to do it at least one time to help propagate the idea! 🙂 And ohhh, is it hard to limit myself to just 6! 🙂 But here is 6 of my favorite from My Garden Gallery:
Not the expensive one, just a simple Canon 100mm zoom, 1:28, Image Stabilizer (for hand-held) and auto focus. Here’s a few flowers with it and MY VERY FIRST HIBISCUS in my garden! I only recently got the plant which is slow-growing, but here’s the first bloom!
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| Hibiscus My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Once de Abril (haven’t found an English name yet) My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Heliconia My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Plumbago My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Red Ginger My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Porter Weed My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
I think I did okay on close-ups of flowers before with a telephoto lens from a distance, but this is suppose to be better! It has the capability of a 1:1 ratio if I get close enough. Insects will be more difficult because they scare off, so I’ll probably continue with my 300 mm for them. Though, note the little tiny ant on the Porter Weed above. 🙂 And it is so nice having flowers blooming year around!
My Flora & Forests photo gallery
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| Step into my main garden from the driveway or back door of house. Surrounded by the trees and other flowers of neighbors. You know you are in a tropical place! |
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| Out my backdoor you are greeted by a pottery bird garden-art by Anthony. Anthony Jeroski will soon be moving into the house across the driveway since Don & Lynda just moved back to the states. Anthony & I have plans for a garden-art bird nest made of wood & wire that will feature a glass egg made by my Nashville friend Kevin Hunter. I think you will like it Kevin! |
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| Here a garden is really your whole yard and terrace and that is true for me. With watering during the dry season, my “front yard” jungle has grown, especially the Cecropia or Guarumo tree, many palms & flowers on a slope. |
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| One is a Nance Tree which by July will have little yellow fruits I can eat! |
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| Bougainvillea is blooming on my terrace and down below on the slope. There was not one here when I came and I consider it the quintessential tropical flower I got used to in Florida and The Gambia. I have two now! |
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| Once de Abril Planta or 11th of April Plant is what my gardener calls it. It is becoming very tall and full shrub, adding to my privacy screen and it blooms year around with seasonal yellow berries that birds eat quickly. It is one of my favorite plants and was a surprise gift from my gardener. The 11th of April is Juan Santamaria Day, our only war hero. He was the drummer boy who stopped the American Walker from taking over Costa Rica as his personal slave state. DO YOU SEE THE BEE ON THE FLOWER? Click image for larger view. |
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| The largest of my 4 Heliconia plants. |
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| The brightest of my Heliconia plants. |
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| The smallest of my Heliconia plants. |
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| And the most prolific of the 4 Heliconia plants. It greets you at the driveway next to the Plumbago. |
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| Red Ginger is all over my garden & prolific. |
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| Lantanas are my border and called multiple things here. Grow fast! I have to cut them back regularly or they become shrubs! That is something like a Florida White Butterfly here today. |
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| A type of Petunia that blooms abundantly every morning, then by mid-afternoon the blooms have all dropped to the ground. More the next morning! Year-around. |
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| Flame Vine in English or Triquitraque in Spanish which literally means “firecracker” in Spanish |
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| Flame Vine or Triquitraque |
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| Plumbago is beautiful and my most prolific bloomer. My background plant. But it grows so fast I have to cut it back every few months, losing some color. But it blooms year-around and especially on the new growth after trimming. |
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| “Crown of Thorns” is what Lynda called it. I bought at Don & Lynda’s Moving Sale. |
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| Aloe Vera – I’m always ready for burn! 🙂 |
Sorry I made so many photos this morning! And that is not all of my garden! 🙂 I love it!
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| Plumbago |
I think most of my photos have been of the total garden or yard and not each blossom. So here are some close-ups of a sort, zoomed in on with my Canon Rebel and 75-300 zoom lens. Enjoy!
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| Flame Vine or Triquitraque |
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| My large Heliconia There are so many varieties that I hesitate to identify the species |
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| This large Heliconia has seeds in it that birds eat or they grow to new plants |
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| There are 6 varieties of this small yellow Heliconia growing in wild and cultivated. I have two . . . |
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| This is my other small yellow Heliconia |
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| Then this small red Heliconia that is finally blooming again. None open yet. |
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| The almost constantly blooming Red Ginger here with a fully open bloom and . . . |
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| A Red Ginger bud just opening and growing sideways I cut all of mine back and so they are just now starting to fill with blooms again. |
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| One of the many colors of Lantanas I have as a border. They are coming back strong after I cut them to the ground 2 months ago. |
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| Porter Weed for Hummingbirds I have pink and purple. |
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| A special Costa Rican variety of Petunia that blooms heavy each morning and then all blooms drop off in the afternoon to none, nada! Every day! It is kind of like the Morning Glories my landlord has growing on his fence. They too bloom every morning only. |
The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly. ~William Wordsworth
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| Finally my concrete wall made pretty! Triquitraque or Flamevine |
The triquitraque or flamevine I had planted 7 months ago started out with a burst of growth and then just quit and never bloomed much. So Jean-Luc suggested I feed them since the construction site soil was not particularly rich and I thus added a fertilizer, sort of a 12-12-12 from the La Coope Farm Store. Wow! what a difference it made! They grew and got greener and are now just starting to bloom. I think there will be more, but I’m sharing what I have now and I’m pleased! It kind of makes up for the Porterweed not blooming now. Both attract hummingbirds.
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| From above the flamevine contrasts nicely with the blue plumbago below. I love it when a plan comes together! 🙂 |
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| And just in time for the visit here by Reagan Frazier from Nashville. Photographed here on his camera on my terrace overlooking Atenas. |
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| Thanks to Reagan for snapping this photo of me at the San Jose Airport! I promise to give a warm welcome to anyone who comes to visit. Pura Vida! |
Reagan arrived yesterday afternoon and today we took it easy, walking around Atenas Central a little and eating a typical Tico lunch or “Casado.” Tomorrow we start with a Tico Breakfast with a beautiful view at Casita del Cafe and then drive to Poas Volcano and the La Paz waterfalls so he can feel like a real tourist! 🙂 Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of the visit here!
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| Little Yellow Sulphur is one of many yellow ones all around now. Note that this is different than the other two yellow butterflies I’ve shown. On my Plumbago flower, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
And I have a PHOTO GALLERY of Costa Rica Butterflies that you might enjoy. Peace & Love!
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| Male Cinnamon Hummingbird on a Plumbago plant Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Yellow & Black Swallowtail Butterfly on a Plumbago plant. Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Crescent Butterfly or maybe a Peck’s Skipper on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Peck’s Skipper on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Mustard White on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
I’ve seen two other hummingbirds in the garden but without a camera. Also some other butterflies.
Today my boxes were delivered – mostly scrapbooks and artwork that I shipped from states before leaving in December. More about that tomorrow! And here is tonight’s sunset:
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| A different view tonight! I walked up driveway and shot over my roof looking west instead of usual north. Also it is a 5-shot panorama. |