February 15, 2010

Bloom Day - February 2010

Pink ginger, La Ceiba, HondurasI finally remembered to participate in the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day again! These are some of the flowers blooming in my La Ceiba, Honduras, garden today. I imagine this is a bit different than the snow-covered US right now.

Banana bloom, La Ceiba, HondurasBanana bloom

Alpina purpurata, Pink ginger, La Ceiba, HondurasAlpina purpurata, the pink ginger, blooms without pause 365 days per year. It smells good, too.


Hot pink and orange bougainvilleaBougainvillea, called Napoleon here in La Ceiba. It is a staple of most tropical gardens as it is such a spectacular bloomer.


blooming tree, La Ceiba, HondurasI need help identifying this blooming tree. It was a volunteer and came up in the narrow side yard between the concrete muro (fence) and the house. I'm afraid we'll have to remove it because of the location − which just shows how things can get out of control during the rainy season, not to mention 7 months of political distraction.

Alpinia purpurata, red ginger, La Ceiba, HondurasAlpinia purpurata, common name red ginger, grows to about 10 feet (3 m.) and blooms year round. It's a common plant, but there is none more dependable.

Pale yellow Ixora, La Ceiba, HondurasIxora is a very common shrub in La Ceiba, but this pale yellow is less common than the neon bright colors.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensisThis variegated Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is quite large, at least 10 feet tall. I don't know the name of the variety. It may be Snowflake or Snow Queen.

Clerodendrum thomsonae (Bleeding heart vine)Clerodendrum thomsonae (Bleeding heart vine) is looking particularly good. The zompopos (leaf cutter ants) which devastate the vine every few months by eliminating every single leaf on the plant must be on vacation.


Etlingera elatior, Torch Ginger, La Ceiba, HondurasEtlingera elatior, common name Torch Ginger. Here in Honduras, the pink Etlinger is called Bastón de la Reina (cane of the queen). They are of the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family and the flowers rise from the ground on their own stalks. These blooms are a favorite of hummingbirds. These plants get HUGE! Some of the flowers are at eye level for me (about 5' tall) and the plants themselves are at least 15' tall.

Heliconia rostrata (Parrot's beak), La Ceiba, HondurasHeliconia rostrata (Parrot's beak) is a huge plant that spreads like crazy. In June 2008, I mentioned that we were going to have to be a little more stern with this plant. Well, El Jefe got very stern with it he macheted every bit of down to the ground last year. It has come back and is just now starting to bloom again. I'm going to have to hide the machete. The blooms get much larger than this.

Lemons or limes, La Ceiba, HondurasLemons! Or limes! Who knows!


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