Some amazing plants I saw in Asia...

I spent January and February in South East Asia. The plants I saw there definitely inspired me to work on my humble little balcony... It's great how going away can refresh your perspective on usual life, and get you excited to crack on with new things. I came back full of plans, I just hope to keep the enthusiasm and momentum up!

A small selection of my favourite beauties, for your viewing pleasure:

These spiky orange flowers were all over the garden of our guesthouse in Koh Lipe, Thailand. I love the graceful curves of the reaching, flaming petals. And the huge jungly leaves make a wonderful foil.

Look at this majestic chandelier! This drooping eccentric! Upside-down flowers pulled up like puppet arms around the edge... This plant makes me smile. Laugh even! I wish I'd taken a shot of the whole tree, not just a single bloom - it was incredible to see lots of these hanging off. They look completely anomalous! I took this in Laos, just outside a cave temple near Phonsavanh.

Bouganvillea. An oldie but a goodie. They remind me of childhood holidays in France and Spain - I remember loving how they're like little lanterns. And how the flowers seem to be made of leaves. These particular lovelies were pouring down a wall in Bangkok.

Ok, that's the ration of exotica for now. Next post I'll return closer to home. More photos from my trip soon though (including the mindblowing trees at Ta Prohm, Cambodia - aka The Lara Croft temple!)