Can it get any more beautiful? (1)

I could go on and on about how much I love living in the tropics but the best way to show you why is to demonstrate the beauty of the place in pictures.

I'll start with a first round of photos that were all taken yesterday, by myself in my closest surroundings, my own backyard. But of course, the sights are endless and magnificent in this area (tropical Far North Queensland on the top right corner of Australia), so I will post further instalments every now and then (not too often, don't worry).

All these beautiful plants and flowers just keep growing like crazy here, so all I have to do in the garden is cutting things down, ripping things out, and removing the brown stuff (I have to do a lot of that because you can literally watch things grow into a jungle if you let it). Not all of the below are native Australian plants but they obviously like it here. I quite like a bit of a wild look, so I'm not too neat and picky, but I love spending time out there in the garden and be in touch with the natural world. I also prefer to do it barefoot and without gloves so I can actually touch and feel the plants. And I love to hug the trees, especially fat, smooth palm trees. They seem to exude a certain kind of life energy that charges your batteries. Of course, there's always a chance of a snake or spider encounter as well, so a little alertness and awareness is necessary. So far so good, I'm still alive...

Here you go, feast your senses. You're welcome!

Desert Rose (Adenium obesum)

Yellow-orange Bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana)

Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Red Ginger (Alpinia purpurata) and Pink Flamingo Heliconia (Heliconia chartacea)

Golden Torch (Heliconia psittacorum)

Pink Flamingo Heliconia (Heliconia chartacea) and Red Ginger (Alpinia purpurata)

Red Jungle Geranium or Flame of the Woods (Ixora coccinea)

Elephant Ear (Colocasia gigantea)

Orchid (some kind of Cattleya, I'd go mad if I tried to find a more specific name)

Golden Trumpet (Allamanda cathartica)

Golden Dew Drop (Duranta erecta)

Jatropha podagrica (one of my favourites - totally awesome plant )

This is just a small selection of what was flowering on that particular day (yesterday). Flowers and berries are coming and going throughout the year. There are many places in the world where people lose their connection with nature, children don't get to play on grass or in the sand, and don't learn where their food comes from. It is detrimental to the planet and the human species because a lack of connection to the natural environment makes people care less about it. Care less about protecting it. When was the last time you looked at a plant in all its detail and all its glory? Are you taking your kids away from the iPad and out into nature enough? How often do you tear yourself away from the computer and go breathe some forest air? Balance is the key to (almost) everything!

I'll be back soon (but this afternoon, I'm going to catch some sunshine)

Cheers and enjoy life, you've only got one (I think...)