One of the best things about living on St. John, and there are many “best things” is being surrounded by beauty. Whether it be the almost unbelievable vistas from overlooks and beaches or the views of the interior mountain valleys, the tropical forests or just looking abut while walking down just about any road, path or trail.

Today, walking through our property in the Chocolate Hole, Great Cruz Bay area of St. John, I noticed that many of our orchids were in bloom. I took some photos, which I’d like to share:

Native Orchid

This one is special. I believe it’s the only native orchid on St. John. They grow and thrive in the most inhospitable environments. For example, at the end of a windswept point, exposed to the winds and sun.

Here, on the southwest side of St. John, the conditions are similar, we are a dry part of the island and only the heartiest of species survive without the helping hand of human beings, drip irrigation, gardners and fertilizers.

But if you walk up the Great Sunset Road that runs high up the hill overlooking Chocolate Hole Harbor, you will see dozens of these orchids wherever the land has been left in its natural state.

Orchids – St. John Virgin Islands

Lady of the Night

This one is not an orchid. It’s a species of Night Blooming Cerius called Lady of the Night. It produced a small fruit (too small to eat really) and blooms at night like its cousins.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Life on St. John USVI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.