Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day: Albahaca for basil. Believe it or not, basil is actually quite popular in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala. Plant nurseries have starter plants for about Q5; that’s about US $0.65. Since we have a temperate weather year round, you can always have growing fresh in your garden.
Here’s a close-up look at vibrant fuchsia bracts of the bougainvillea climber plant; definitely the most popular flower plant found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala. Notice that the actual flowers are tiny and are surrounded by brightly colored papery bracts. What’s your favorite bougainvillea color?
We continue our close-up look at the flowers found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala with camarón amarillo, as we know the yellow shrimp plant in Guatemala. The most popular colors for the shrimp flowers are red, white and yellow. The scientific name for the yellow shrimp flower is Pachystachys lutea. The red shrimp flower’s … Read more
Here’s a close-up look of another popular flower found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala: Salvia leucantha commonly known in Guatemala as Salvia Cordón de San Francisco. How are these flowers known in your neck of the woods?
We continue our close-up look at the most common flowers found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala with Hortensias the common name (which most people in the US call hydranga) or Hydrangea marophylla its scientific name. This particular flower (which most people in the US call hydranga) has an additional lesson for me. You can … Read more
This week we will take a closer look at some of the most popular flowers found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala. I’ll start by sharing a close-up look at a flower commonly known as Cinco negritos, scientific name: Lantana camara (Guatemala). This flower bouquet measures about 4cm / 1.5 in. A bush measures about … Read more
Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day: Bugambilea for Bougainvillea. Even though La Antigua Guatemala is known as “the city of the perpetual roses”. In my humble opinion, this slogan should be changed to “The City of the Perpetual Bougainvilleas.” Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, or trees. The inflorescence consists … Read more
Even though we are under quarantine and lockdown national mandates, we still get a chance to enjoy the sunshine and flowers found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala. And so do you through the daily multimedia updates I have been sharing with you since May 2006. Now that life has given me a lot of … Read more
The Strongylodon jade vines are commonly known as emerald vine or turquoise jade vine; although in Antigua Guatemala the popular name is Jade tumbergia. The Strongylodon jade vines are not as commonly found as the colorful and odd-looking flowers of the climber plant known as Tumbergias (tunbergia misurense is the scientific name); but once you see them … Read more
As I have shared with you before, these vibrant yellow or maroon spotted with yellow strange-looking flowers are the gift of a climber plant known locally as Tumbergias (tunbergia misurense is the scientific name). Tumbergias are very popular in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala. Tumbergias are also quite popular with bees and hummingbirds because of the amount of nectar … Read more
Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day: Orquídea for orchid. Did you know that Guatemala has more than 1,000 species of orchids? 700 of those orchid species are endemic to Guatemala.
This particular flower (which most people in the US call hydranga) has an additional lesson for me. You can find them in different colors — white, pink, lavender, and blue. But they are all the same variety. What makes the difference is the composition of the soil they are in, specifically how acidic. It’s a … Read more
Two small updates from Antigua Guatemala. I can’t believe that I hadn’t shared with you the flowers known here as camarones blancos, white shrimp, in all these years. I mean I have tried to be as thorough as possible with the GuateFlora series, I mean even chichicaste is in there. The small of update, for … Read more
Strongylodon Jade flowers are vines similar to the colorful and strange-looking flowers 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 Jade, on the other hand, are quite rare. Both kinds of tunbergia are very popular with bees … Read more
Is it the remains of rain or the dew from sunrise, what do you think? If you any of you guys are interested in the scientific information and growing conditions of these flowers, I will look it up and update the entry.