Red

Rather taken for granted, largely due to its profusion are these fairly common bromeliads, a small Neoregelia (above) and a Bilbergia (left). But they're very attractive nevertheless, and it's just a matter of blocking them in a garden to be fully appreciated.

And they're vividly red this Valentine weekend! Red happens to be my favorite color, and I'm partial to anything in this blazing hue. The Neoregelia above blushes at the center when it is fully mature and flowers, while the Bilbergia shoots up a brightly-colored bract before it finally wilts and produces young.

Jacobina

From a single cutting from an uncle's garden more than two years ago, we finally have grown into a flowering bush the strikingly-red Jacobinia plant (Justicia carnea).

It has glossy, deep green veined leaves and vivid red inflorescences (may be other colors in other varieties) that grow in its terminal branches, so periodic pruning is necessary not only for the flowers to grow where you want them to but the plant has a tendency to become too leggy in time. We planted it near the Candle Flower plant (background, Pacystachys lutea) to provide contrast. But to break the continuous green hedges, we inserted a deep-colored Croton in between them (not shown in the photo).

Macopa

Extremely attractive at this time of the year is our Macopa tree (Malay Apple, Syzygium malaccensis), full of shiny, bell-shaped and rose-hued fruits that shimmer in the hot, summer sun. It's planted by our entrance gate, and everybody who walks by cannot help but stop and admire it.


You'd want to eat them soon after picking (as they bruise easily), maybe chill them a bit to make the juice even more refreshing. This crunchy fruit tastes best with a dip of rock salt.

Vines by the River

Apart from the wild plants and ferns down by the river, there is a substantial number of vines; some even flowering at this time, that add to the biodiversity of our small and fragile micro-ecosystem. I assume these are indigenous to our forests; after all, the area's fairly remote and wild enough to dispel the possibility that they are cultivated and non-native. Some of them yield attractive flowers or fruits that look curiously different and deserve at least, an attempt to promote for them to be identified.

The two on the left have startlingly-unusual forms, and would easily captivate any man-in-the-street. I would imagine too that some of them would be food for some birds and animals.

There is still so much for us to learn about local plants and trees, God bless the few people who tirelessly educate and promote our own endemic flora. I myself have tremendously increased my appreciation of our own plants largely through a blog just like mine, called Our Philippine Trees. It's a rich storehouse of information and has personal stories and photographs from a true advocate. I thoroughly enjoy learning that a lot of the place names in the country are plants that we've never even know are plants and trees int he first place! Does anyone know that Cabuyao is a tree, Bocaue is a type of bamboo, Diliman is a fern, Lucban is a fruit, and even Anilao is not just a diving destination to begin with!

Chenille Plant

Although I have written at length about Acalyphas just yesterday, I purposely withheld one variety which I feel should be singled out, if only for its sheer outlandishness: it has plain looking leaves unlike its other cousins but makes it up by producing bizarre, tail-like inflorescences (in vivid red, at that) that hang from its branches! Some authoritative references call it the Chenille plant (Acalypha hispida, French for caterpillar, but actually alludes to chenille fabric) though I also have come across the common name Cat's Tail Acalypha. Either way, it cannot be helped that it be noticed in any garden where they produce the red thingy practically all year round.

Acalyphas

Any tropical garden can use some Acalypha plants to create contrast among its otherwise green foliage, what with the striking colors, leaves, and patterns of this unusual family. Some, like the A. wilkesiana cultivar above and below left, have ruffled, serrated leaves with randomly-stripes and peach-colored margins. Another cultivar (below right and further below) has predominantly-red shades with bronze specks but no margins.

A. wilkesiana "Copperleaf" with Golden Miagos (Osmoxylon geelvinkianum)

Another cultivar we have looks just the same as the one above but colored in a complementing palette of green, yellow, and white (below). This cultivar's leaves look like it's not as big as the copper-colored variety and apparently does not grow as tall when trained as an informal hedge. Further below is yet another cultivar with narrower leaves.

Fire Orchid

Still in bloom for some weeks now is the Fire Orchid (Renanthera philippinensis), an indigenous bloom with an arrestingly-red color. Native to our forests, Renantheras come in varied colors and patterns elsewhere but it's only here in the country that it blushes this vividly.

The numerous blooms just before it opens

Renanthera detail

Firespike

Flowering profusely now is the Firespike Plant (Odontonema strictum), looking gorgeously-red this Christmastime. Its flowers which are on its terminal spikes, have a nectar attractive particularly to sunbirds (leftmost part of the bush in the above image) and have been delightfully keeping me occupied photographing them, both the pompous bush and the perky birds.

When i started having this plant propagated, my head gardener Edwin looked baffled, wondering what beauty I find in this plant which they consider more of a roadside weed than an ornamental. But I insisted we grow it and cultivate it as a hedge, and now I'm vindicated :)

The Lipstick Plant

Anyone can't help but notice, even from a distance, the startling red flowers of the Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus). A native of the Philippine rainforest, it naturally occurs as a vine in host trees, epiphytic in nature and highly-dependent in the damp tropical climate. In some gardens (like ours), they are hung from a wire basket to let the vines fall off the edge and flamboyantly display the attractive flowers.