Back up and running

I just lost my entire post! Arrrggghhhh
My theme was red.
Anyway, I've been having some trouble with Blogger over the last few days but it seems as if I am back in the saddle.

This lovely red shampoo ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) looks firm but is actually deliciously squishy. It is still the season for gingers and heliconias. My shampoos haven't done anything for me this year- maybe when the rains stop.

The yellows and pink of this upright heliconia are a wonderful contrast to all the surrounding green.A particularly attractive costus that often dies back in the dry season only to make a reappearance once the rains return.


Ixoras are much maligned for being a tropical cliche but as with most cliches, they do carry a lot of clout. They are bright, steady bloomers with a wide range of colour variations. Poor things, they were just too much of a good thing.
Hummingbirds love them. So do children. A whole generation of West Indian children spent many a sleepy afternoon drawing the sweet nectar out of each star shaped flower. We never ate the flower, just drank the nectar .I know this is a heliconia bihai but I'm not sure which one. I know it's not Richmond Red. Maybe the Red She???