The glorious flowers of Costa Rica: An #EcoCostaRica Photo Essay -

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Costa Rica

Costa Rica flowers — The Finca Rosa Blanca celebrates Costa Rica’s flowers

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Costa Rica is known for gorgeous flowers and the abundance of nature

DO YOU LOVE flowers? Who doesn’t? They are just one of the many beauties of nature that Costa Rica is famed for. This post is a collection of EcoAdventureMedia’s best Costa Rica flower photos, a sure antidote to the travails of winter in a northern climate if there ever was one.

I travelled to Costa Rica with six of my colleagues from EcoAdventureMedia, and we each followed our own itineraries throughout the verdant country. Collectively, we saw and photographed an astounding variety of animals, plants, flowers, wildlife, birds and landscapes. Costa Rica is truly a paradise for nature lovers — and it helps that the government is committed to sustainable tourism and ecotourism.

Costa Rica is also known for beautiful beaches, abundant natural forests and sanctuaries, a diverse geography that includes volcanoes and rainforests, and delicious, fresh foods including traditional Costa Rican dishes.

flowers Costa Rica ecotourism — In the Finca Rosa Blanca garden

A rose by any other name…

I took the photo above and the top photo of the butterfly room at the Finca Rosa Blanca, a very unique and charming eco-resort in the hills outside San Jose. I will be writing more about this lovely place, set in an organic coffee plantation.

The earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can read more about my EcoAdventureMedia trip to Costa Rica in this post, about how I discovered the meaning of the national motto, Pura Vida. And, you can read about my second week in Costa Rica, on a private guided tour with Kensington Tours here.

flowers Costa Rica ecotourism Montverde hydrangeas — Hydrangeas around a pool at El Establo Cloud Forest Hotel in Monteverde

flowers Costa Rica ecotourism Arenal volcano hotspring — In the garden of the Arenal Kioro hot springs resort

Dreaming of flowers

Jim O’Donnell travelled as part of the EcoAdventureMedia team and he published this glorious post about Lankester Botanical Garden in Costa Rica. He says, “I’m a sucker for flowers and gardens of any kind. My dreams are full of them.” His dreams come true in the following flower photos he snapped in Costa Rica

A flower blossoms for its own joy. Oscar Wilde

Award-winning writer and photographer Jim O’Donnell is the author of Notes for the Aurora Society: 1500 Miles on Foot Across Finland. He can be found at his website Around the World in Eighty Years.

Fragrance and flowers

EcoAdventureMedia member Ethan Gelber took the following photos in Costa Rica. He says, “The Flamingo Flower (Anthurium scherzerianum) goes by many names and its genus includes about 1,000 species. In Costa Rica, it usually grows in montane rainforest at elevations of 1,300 to 2,100 metres. The flowers of the red pine cone ginger contain a fragrant liquid that is sometimes used as a shampoo. When the flowers and foliage are crushed, the penetrating fragrance is very pleasant and can last a long time.”

I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one. Edna Saint Vincent Millay

For nearly two decades, Ethan Gelber has agitated for responsible/sustainable travel practices, a focus on keeping things local, and quality and relevance in publishing and destination marketing. He is the founder and editor of The Travel Word.

Peaceful and beautiful

Michael Turtle tells us about the photos he snapped in Costa Rica, below: “These flowers are commonly referred to as Peace Lilies and most people know them to be white. But here you can see two right next to each other but one is completely green. They can change colour to make themselves more or less attractive to birds and insects if they have no pollen to share. The other is a colourful and striking flower found in the mountains of Bajos del Toro in the centre of Costa Rica.”

Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. Georgia O’Keefe

Michael Turtle left his career in the Australian television and radio industry to travel indefinitely and share his stories on his blog, Time Travel Turtle.

A commitment to green

Bret Love and Mary Gabbett are the passionate and talented duo behind Green Global Travel and they are also the driving force behind EcoAdventureMedia. Bret and Mary were part of the team in Costa Rica and contributed the photos below. They say, “We launched Green Global Travel because we are passionate about ecotourism, and believe in its potential to help save the world’s precious nature and wildlife by encouraging sustainable practices that both benefit and respect local indigenous cultures.”

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. Buddha

Green Global Travel is an ecotourism, nature/wildlife conservation & cultural preservation website focused on encouraging people to travel more adventurously and respectfully.