Friday Flowers: Bougainvillea

One of our daughters left Canada this week to visit family in Mexico. As I dropped her off at the Toronto airport, I remembered several of my late winter trips to this country. It is magical to leave the snow and cold winds here and arrive just a few hours later to warmth, bright colours, and a totally different culture.

The bougainvillea vine has beautiful papery blooms that make a simple adobe hut look magnificent. It grows all over the world in tropical and subtropical climates. The thorny branches spread rapidly and bloom all year in the right conditions. The plant does best in full sun but needs little water.

Grandma and I stayed at this quaint hotel in Tepic, Nayarit a number of years ago. She is standing at the bottom of the stairs, dwarfed by an enormous bougainvillea that is cascading over the stone wall.

Still round the turrets of this antique tower
The bougainvillea hangs a crimson crown,
Wistaria-vines and clematis in flower,
Wreathing the lower surface further down,
Hide the old plaster in a very shower
Of motley blossoms like a broidered gown.
Outside, ascending from the garden grove,
A crumbling stairway winds to the one room above.

from The Deserted Garden
Alan Seeger

I googled bougainvillea and guess what popped up? This lovely post written by Ginger at Joyful Woman in December 2005.