Babes love plants and so does my friend Connor. This section is for them.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone with an ounce of critical thinking to their name, but it surprised me to see all the trendy tropical houseplants that everyone loves in the US grow naturally and abundantly here in the tropics.
April 2023 - December 2023
Whereas Gleno was in a river valley, those rivers were fed by the the higher mountains of Ermera Vila, my permanent home I came to in April. It is even cooler here than Gleno, with most mornings and evenings requiring a light jacket. Asides from the driest part of the dry season, it is exceptionally green here, with a dense wealth of plants growing under the towering samtuku trees used to shade the vast wild coffee plantations.
These plants grow on much larger trees. They add a beautiful multi-colored skirt on the behemoths.
Wild poinsettias remind me of Christmas back home.
It was giving Hong-Kong so I had to get a nice picture
These orange beauties turn into little hard balls that are pretty fun to throw off cliffs and such.
Hella purple for a short period of time.
January 2023 - March 2023
These photos are mostly from Gleno, a small village an hour’s drive from the coast and capital. It isn’t too far above sea-level but is enough to significantly cool down compared to Dili. Plenty of tropical plants grow with ease, but it fortunately doesn’t feel like a jungle.
This was one of my favorite houseplants in the US becuase of its striking pink contrast. It grows like a weed here. Very lovely going on hikes to see these lining the path. In the right like they can be breathtaking.
I'm such a sucker for non green colors on plants
Reminds me of a laterally growing reverse colored Christmas tree.
Young jackfruit! Adorable now, will be the size of Mike Trout's torso when ripe.
Most of the time the plants do the talking, sometimes the camera takes the lead, sometimes they collab on something nice like this. Very lovely!
It reminds me of the Where the Red Fern Grows without reminding me of experiencing the death of a loved one at a young age.
Reminds me of Beyonce's "okay ladies now get in formation" song.
Can't go anywhere in this country without seeing an absurd amount of bananas dangling from a lone branch.
There are something around two dozen banana varieties here. They range from yellow to red, small to huge, and taste wildly different from one another.
Flower :) Pink :)