The gardens of Goa were full of plants which are easy to grow in the tropics. The most popular was the Hibiscus. Although it was the same plant in every one, the colours were different from one garden to another. So many ways of standing out in a crowd without really standing out!
Tag: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
White Hibiscus
White flowers are hard to photograph. I saw this attractive white Hibiscus in someone’s garden in a small village in Goa. As I stood and fussed with aperture and speed, two dogs appeared on the other side of the fence and started to bark. Their loud calls didn’t stop even when I walked away. No one paid them any attention. Not a single person appeared to take a look, or even called out to them to stop barking.
Yellow and Red Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a common garden flower in India, and walking around South Goa, I noticed that Hibiscus X Rosa-Sinensis is a common choice. I understand that this hybrid was created in Polynesia long before the arrival of Europeans in this region. The red variety is used in various rituals across the country, and is so common that I don’t take photos unless the light is extraordinary. But this cultivar, with its yellow and orange flower demanded that I take a photo.
Pink hibiscus
Hibiscus is a rather large genus of plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae). So it is not always easy to look at an unknown variety and identify it. The exception, as far as I’m concerned is the blood red Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the one flower that is offered in the worship of Kali. That is so widely grown in gardens in India that I’m completely familiar with its anatomy. This pink hibiscus had the same morphology, so I quite willing to believe that it is a cultivar of the same species. It is too common a flower for me to stop to take another photo. But the backlighting makes it look rather pretty, I thought, as I took a photo. Then, as I clicked I realized that a gardener had sprinkled water in that patch very recently. It adds a nice effect.
Don't hold your breath 
