Summary

The website content is a travel and photography article showcasing the floral beauty of Trinidad and Tobago, featuring the author's personal experiences and photographs of various local flowers.

Abstract

The article "Flower Power: The Floral Beauty of Trinidad & Tobago" by JoAnn Ryan is a celebration of the vibrant flowers found in the Caribbean nation. It highlights the author's passion for floral photography since moving to Trinidad and Tobago over a year and a half ago. The piece includes stunning images of flowers such as the crown of thorns, an unidentified orange flower, hibiscus, and bougainvillea, accompanied by the author's reflections on their beauty and significance. Ryan also shares anecdotes about her husband's amusement with her photography obsession, the discovery of flowers during her stay, and the cultural importance of certain blooms, like the national flower, the Chaconia. The article is part of the Globetrotters April Monthly Challenge on "Floral Beauty Around the World" and references previous works by other contributors to the challenge.

Opinions

The author, JoAnn Ryan, expresses a deep appreciation for the floral diversity of Trinidad and Tobago, considering it a defining feature of the tropical Caribbean landscape.
Ryan humorously notes her husband's initial annoyance with her floral photography obsession but suggests that he has come to accept and sometimes participate in her photo-taking endeavors.
The author emphasizes the beauty of the flowers, comparing the obsession with photographing them to less favorable alternatives such as drugs and porn, in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
Ryan conveys a sense of wonder and discovery when encountering new flowers, such as the crown of thorns and an unnamed orange flower, and she invites readers to help identify the latter.
The article reflects on the cultural significance of certain flowers, particularly the Chaconia, which is the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago, symbolizing the imperishability of life and the continuity of the nation.
Ryan's enthusiasm for the Globetrotters challenge is evident as she encourages readers to explore more flower-related stories and to engage with the Medium community by subscribing to her stories and joining the platform.

Writing — Travel & Photography

Flower Power: The Floral Beauty of Trinidad & Tobago

Globetrotters April Monthly Challenge — “Floral Beauty Around the World”

Beyond august greenery and brilliant beaches, there’s nothing more staple and expressive of a tropical Caribbean Island than floral beauty.

Flowers have been one of my favorite photo subjects since first arriving here at my expat location of Trinidad and Tobago well over a year and a half ago now.

Hubby Andy, while initially annoyed, has learned to deal with and at times even embrace my flower-photo-taking obsessions. Sometimes you just gotta train ’em a bit, dontcha?

And there are lots worse obsessions out there, like drugs and porn. 😆

Ok, then!

Here are just a few captures from this beautiful island. I will feature more in part two of this post in a week or two.

The crown of thorn flower is also known as Christ plant or Christ thorn, as they symbolically have been associated with Christ when he was crucified on the cross all those years ago and was forced to wear a crown of thorns.

They are native to Madagascar and their binomial name is Euphorbia milii.

This particular bunch I encountered at my brother-in-law’s house, as we were invited to share a lovely dinner. The contrasting shades of pink accented the green of the leaves so beautifully, I just had to get a photo.

I had originally identified this flower as a dahlia, but looking at photos online I’m a little unsure about that now. It does look a bit like the cosmos flower.

Maybe someone out there knows better than me on this one, and of course one thing above all is important here: it’s beautiful! I love the bright orange color… reminds me of the color of the sky when the sun is rising.

Hibiscus is of course extremely prevalent throughout the tropics… and it’s much easier to identify. 😆

I’ve encountered a variety of different colors and shades of hibiscus here in Trinidad.

Orange and pink bougainvillea —Photo by JoAnn Ryan

One of my favorite flowers though is bougainvillea, which I’ve written about previously quite a bit. This is still one of my most popular Medium posts to date:

From Trinidad With Love: Beautiful Bougainvillea

And why this flower is so great for psychological well-being

medium.com

There are many more flowers I have yet to encounter in Trinidad. I was just reading recently about the national flower of Trinidad, the Chaconia. While indigenous to the country, it was named for the last Spanish Governor, Don Jose Maria Chacon:

“As an indigenious flower it has been witness to our entire history. It can therefore be said to represent the imperishability of life and the continuity of our Nation. With its colour matching the flaming red of our Flag and Coat of Arms…” — Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs | National Flower

Hopefully, I will capture some in photos one of these days. 🙂

This month, our challenge on Globetrotters centers on “Floral Beauty Around the World”, which Michele was so kind to kick off for us this month.

Anne provided us with her introductory story about flowers in the desert: “Floral Beauty in the Desert.”

Earlier in 2023, Manali Mitra heralded in the New Year with this lovely flower-power story:

Floral Dawn of the New Year

Walking through the heaps of marigolds, bags full of jasmines, and bundles of roses to start the new year with renewed…

medium.com

Last year, KL Simmons wrote about the beautiful flowers and rainbows of Germany:

More Flowers, Sunshine And Rainbows, Please And Thank You

An unexpected welcome surprise and reprieve here in Germany

medium.com

Looking forward to more flower-power stories!

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