Fresh flowers and healthy bugs

Every time we went out of town, one of the first things I always noticed was how bright the flowers appeared to be once we have left the city. I used to think it was something subconscious — you know, as though everything is more beautiful because of the excitement over whatever adventure laid ahead.

But it isn’t subconscious. Flowers in rural areas are brighter and their colors more vivid because there is less pollution. Less concrete roads equal less vehicles, less exhaust fumes, less dust. Ergo, the natural colors of the flowers come alive.

The bugs and insects are healthier too — and less shy to humans.

That’s a macro shot, not a zoomed-in photo. Meaning, I was only a few inches away from that grasshopper. And I have over a dozen variations of that photo which means I was that close to the grasshopper for at least five minutes. It never flew away. Neither did it attack me.

Perhaps it’s just me but, in the city, common garden bugs and insects fly away at the first sign of human presence as though they sense danger. Which, of course, means they are harder to photograph. But in rural areas… they would hardly move.

See? How’s that for a pose?

In the archive

• Flowers in the garden
• Looking for a small flowering plant that likes a lot of water
• Milflores (Hydrangea macrophylla) for the garden
• You don’t plant the garden until after you’ve moved in
• Flowers of the firetree
• Pink flowers and purple veins
• Yellow orange gumamela (hibiscus)
• Chichirica (Madagascar periwinkle) at Balay Indang
• Sunflowers in May
• Pink and white lantana flowers