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If you live in or around Antigua Guatemala you get used to coffee farms, coffee lots and coffee orchards and cupolas very fast. Here I was able to get both on the same shot. This photo was taken on the back end of the San Cristobal El Bajo church.

Have you visited San Cristóbal El Bajo yet? If not, why not?

Okay, I will tell you, but please don’t go telling everyone about it. In Guatemala we have a rainy season that lasts between six and seven months. Also, Guatemala has vast amounts of underground waterbeds; is this they correct term? Check out the Water Series for many of the different angles of water in Guatemala. Furthermore, Guatemala is geographically located in the Tropics, although it is hard to realize this unless you spend most of the time on beaches and coastal areas, and that’s why the humidity on the atmosphere is very high, especially during the rainy season. All this water makes Guatemala so green. Okay, please, don’t tell anyone, it’s our own little secret.

By the way, the photo was taken in my garden after a heavy rain yesterday.

I was showing my cousin some photos of Antigua Guatemala and the first thing she mentioned was that there were flowers everywhere year round. You know I always try to look at Antigua Guatemala with the eyes of visitor so I can notice that things that go unnoticed to the locals. Also, I have spend a great deal of time showing the different kinds of flowers and the most often found flowers around Antigua Guatemala. However, I have to admit I have become accustomed to the excessive amount of flowers that one can find everywhere.

The flowers above were found at the table of a local restaurant. Do you know what kind of flowers are these?

Palo de Izote is the Mesoamerican cousin of the yucca tree or Joshua tree and one of my favorite photographic subjects. Just take a look at the archives for palo de izote. Palo de Izote is a relative of the Yucca Tree. It is present in almost all gardens and fences here and everywhere in Southeast Mexico and Central America.

Palo de Izote is used often in the hedgerows around Antigua Guatemala. Its white flowers are edible and they are considered a delicacy. The izote tree flower is also the national flower for the neighboring country of El Salvador.

Any good recipes for flor de izote?

I was told once that in Guatemala if they are lucky coffee plantations can harvest twice a year. But, most of the time, there’s only one harvest season, which begins in February or March.

Do you know when is the other harvesting season in Guatemala?

Gallitos, air plants, are found everywhere in Guatemala, especially so around Antigua Guatemala because the large tree population surrounding our enchanting and colorful colonial town. So, I guess it should come as no surprise to find then hanging from the power lines as well. I have always have felt fascinated by these air plants.

Are there air plants where you live?

The slogan of Antigua Guatemala is “La ciudad de las perpetual rosas” which translate as “the city of the perpetual roses” more or less. However, I believe that bougainvillea flowers are found more often in gardens, above walls, on river banks, in coffee plantations, in the cemetery, et cetera. Literally, bougainvillea flowers are everywhere all year long, making these colorful flowers the perfect recipient for the perpetual part of the slogan.

Also, I believe that the colorful bougainvillea flowers make La Antigua Guatemala the most florida town in Guatemala, what do you think?

Sometimes it feels like the jacaranda trees begin flowering to coincide with the Cuaresma to add the natural purple to the 40 days of Lent.

• Jacaranda Tree at Central Park
• Jacarandas at Central Park
• Jacarandas Trees Wear Violet for Lent

Do you know why purple is the official color of the Lent season? Do a search in the archives for the answer.

The country of the eternal Spring is Guatemala’s slogan or selling hook, except Guatemala does not have Spring seasons, nor Winters; the same for Summer and Fall. Guatemala only has a dry and ready seasons. However, the slogan does applies because of flowers are always blossoming and the weather is temperate most of the time. So there you have it, come the country of the eternal Spring and enjoying the ever-present flower blossoms.

Often the perimeter walls for residential homes have carefully guided bougainvillea trees flowering all year long along to the top. In a way, bougainvillea and other such trees served as a safety fence to keep the amigos de lo ajeno at bay. Of course, at the same time, the luscious green vegetation and flowers are a delight on the eyes.

The title says it all. So what are you waiting for to book your flight and come to land of the eternal spring and gorgeous and wonderful temperate weather. As I have mentioned before, the Dry season brings clear and deep blue skies that serve as backdrop to the giant volcanoes. Furthermore, during the Dry season you get to experience the richness of the culture and traditions of Guatemala in feats like Día de Todos los Santos (Feast of All Souls), Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead), Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving), Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil), Noche Buena y Navidad (Christmas Eve and Christmas), Año Nuevo (New Year), Día de Reyes (Epiphany), Carnaval (Carnival), Cuaresma (Lent) and Semana Santa (Holy Week) just to mention the mayor celebrations.

By the way, a little over sharing, these two flowers were the gift of the hanging plant at our balcony. Life is good!

Climber plants are very popular to cover walls around La Antigua Guatemala as shown in Guateflora: hiedras. As you can see in the picture above, they even placed a metal structure above the wall to accommodate the climbing plant. I didn’t get a good look at the climber plants, but I am sure it will be hiedras (Ivies/Hederas helix & H. canariensis) or falsas uvas (Parthenocisus inserta).

Do you know why climber plants are so popular in Antigua Guatemala? The answer is Guateflora category.

These colorful and strange-looking flowers are the gift of a climber plant known locally as Tumbergias (tunbergia misurense is the scientific name). Tumbergias are quite popular in the gardens of La Antigua Guatemala. Tumbergias are also very popular with bees and bumblebees and the why is very obvious once you seen the amount of nectar these plant produces. If you visit the restaurant inside Vivero La Escalonia you can appreciate a ceiling made with tumbergias in one section of the restaurant.

Éstas coloridas y extrañas flores son el regalo de una planta trepadora conocida localmente como Tumbergias (“tunbergia misurense” es el nombre científico). Tumbergias son muy populares en los jardines de La Antigua Guatemala. Las tumbergias también son populares con las abejas y los colibríes y es obvio después las cantidades de néctar que la planta produce. El restaurante dentro del Vivero La Escalonia tiene como techo natural tumbergias por si les gustaría apreciar tan coloridas flores.

Jardín Antigüeño is also another series that needs to be awaken. Jardín Antigüeño is a photographic tour through the most often found flowers in the gardens of La Antigua Guatemala.

La Antigua Guatemala is known as the Ciudad de las perpetuas rosas, the city of the perpetual roses. Well, surely you can find roses everywhere in and around Antigua Guatemala; there are even rose farms near La Antigua that grow roses for exportation to the U.S. and Canada.

However, I believe the name should actually be Ciudad de las perpetuas bugambileas or the City of the perpetual bougainvilleas as these flowers can be found everywhere in Antigua Guatemala at any given time. Bougainvilleas are really perpetual flowers and an integral part of the jardín antigüeño, Antigua garden. Bugambileas, as they are known in Spanish, go by scientific name of Bougainvillea glabra and belong to the Nyctaginaceae family. Bougainvilleas can be found in red, violet, purple, fuchsia, red, orange, gold, yellow, pink, white, burgandy, terra cotta, kite red, and in light and dark shades of many of the aforementioned colors.

Today’s photo is dedicated to the innocent victims of the killings in Petén. The massacre in Guatemala that left 27 people dead in a cattle ranch — believed to be the work of Mexico’s notorious drug cartel, the Zetas — has forced a 30-day state of emergency as reported by Fox News. Once again, the monsters created by the U.S., in this case, US trained Zetas become nightmares. Mexico and Guatemala are the bleeding victims of a war against drug trafficking caused by a boundless drug addiction. Perhaps it is time to look at other solutions and alternatives. In the mean time, accountability and responsibility are things we should be demanding now if we ever expect to have peace again in the region.