Areca Bambú in Summer

In December the coconuts begin to flourish in the Areca Bambú. They grow so many, so fast, that the birds begin to eat the tiny ones.





You can see many branches of them in the Areca Bambú all over town. There were nine branches altogether in our tree.





By the end of February six of the branches had been stripped. But these three were the biggest and the best.





These three branches are full of small coconuts now.




Verey small birds come along to sample the juice from these nuts. But they are usually too timid to wait until we get a camera to photograph them.





You can see here many of the little branches have already been stripped bare.





But look at how many there are left.





I finally got a few pics of a very tiny bird checking out the little coconuts.




He spent a lot of time checking out all the coconuts.





The coconuts are about 1 to 1.5 cm long. Therefore this bird is only about 5 or 6 cm long.





Now the next step is for the Green Parrots to arrive and get their fill of their favourite treat. One day soon there will be a very loud racket as they come to get the ripe coconuts.


Photos by Urso Branco

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Flamboyant in Spring

This is a collection of the beautiful Flamboyant Tree in spring. There are many of them growing around Águas da Prata. Some are just starting to bloom and others are a putting on a really flamboyant show, as the name suggests.


Scroll down and see all these trees near our home.





















































Photos by Urso Branco

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Beautiful Colours of Hibiscus

Here is a beautiful selection of many colours of Hibiscus, all grown in one garden in Poços de Caldas.

Hibiscus, or rosemallow, is a large genus of about 200–220 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. The genus includes both annual and perennial plants, and woody shrubs and small trees.




Each blossom here is different either in colour or petal shape or pistols and stamens.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Genus: Hibiscus

All these beauties were growing in this well maintained private garden.




Hibiscus is a favourite among artists. Here are four samples of wood carving by Ed Lucas of Águas da Prata. The first is a bed head. The others are rustic coat hangers.






















As the seasons progress the Hibiscus trees in Águas da Prata will be in full bloom. We will show them as they mature.



Photos by Urso Branco

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A Random Collection in Winter

Although it is winter we have many tree and bushes in bloom in Águas da Prata. The colour makes the bitter cold winter bearable. The temperature often plummets down to +15. *SMILE*




In winter they trim many trees back like this. It looks like the end for some.




They seem extreme in many cases but they come back in spring with the arrival of the rains




This large croton never fails to please. It is the largest croton I have ever seen.




Many trees have large seed pods like this.




This bush is across the stret from our house.




This beautiful tree grows in many places in Águas da Prata.




This is a large poinsettia over the wall beside our house.




This poinsettia is a very large tree near our house.




There are many pretty small tress around town like this. planted in the sidewalk.




These stately blue topped trees are all around town.




A telephoto lens helps when you peak into someones backyard to see beauty like this.



There are very many more Flowering Trees and Shrubs of all colours and sizes making Águas da Prata a beautiful town.



Photos by Urso Branco

Read More, See More Photos and Read the Comments . . . CLICK HERE