PRIMAVERA EN VALLARTA

Those of you in the Frozen North probably think we do not have seasons down here.  This is not true, of course we have no snow. The summer is hot, rainy, and humid. Autumn is well, about the same, but not so much.  Winter brings cooler weather with cool breezes off the water or cold breezes off the mountains. It can get below 60F at night.  (I know that is a warm summer day to you), but it is down right cold to us.  Then spring bursts forth in a riot of colored flowers and trees.  The primavera tree (named for Spring) is the first to blossom out in bright yellow blooms.  The Amapas tree is a cousin with leaves and flowers that look exactly the same, except they are pink.  It follows the primavera by about one month. The blossoms only last a few weeks, but they are spectacular. (Sorry all photos of these spectacular trees went with the stolen computer)

On my own patio  the orange thing in a pot is full of blossoms and the bright red crown of thorns is just beautiful.  The bougainvillea will also come into full bloom, but I would rather it did not.  It blooms at least twice a year and the all blow the patio and down the stairs into me kitchen.  We have all kinds of odd blooming vines and trees.   The pink blossom is just one of my three new plants.  My halcyon has just started to put out its drooping red blossom.

Four years ago the city started to underground the electric lines.  Most of the streets in town have new wide sidewalks with lots of planters and trees.  They are laying down fiber optic lines that have reached as close as one block from me.  Of course my street remains the same with the broken sidewalks and pot holes in the cobble stoned street.  The Flower Club has been responsible for almost all the new planting in old town.  They built all the planters along B. Badillo (other wise known as Restaurant Row).  They sold  commemorative tile plates on the planters.  They started with primevera trees and added lots of bougainvilleas.  The City told them the wires would be underground within a few months (this was four years ago.  Nothing is underground)  The flower club also took over the Plaza Cardenas and the new pedestrian mall going down to the new pier.  They also replanted the median leading to the airport. They have done a tremendous job.

I thought that no where is spring more evident than at the Botanical Gardens, so I planned a trip there with a friend visiting from Canada who had never seen the gardens..  It had been a year since I visited there and at the time the Orchid pavilion had now yet been finished.  After ,my last trip there when I was eaten up my mosquitoes, I covered each of us with repellents and then sprayed our clothing.  Not one bite, but also not so many plants in bloom.  The Orchid pavilion was disappointing.  Then I thought of my friends from Marbella Spain and their gorgeous garden.  One morning a took a cab to their home in Los Gaviotos)  and tried my best to capture the garden.  But, alas, I am not a good photographer.  But here is what I got.  The garden is on two large lots separated by a high wall with an iron gate.  The back of the front door duplicates this view.  They keep three gardens the year round, even though they are only here during the winter.  Recently I had dinner there (20 people at a sit down dinner in the garden)  Life is lovely here for the rich.  Now of course, we must soon face summer but Vallarta will still be in bloom somewhere.