I think of that phrase from my favorite Jamaican poetess and author, Lorna Goodison, each time I ask family members and friends the names of flowering plants that adorn their gardens and they tell me they don’t know or aren’t sure. I smile and I also understand.

Jamaica is a paradise for plants and flowers. With more than 200 species of orchids, nearly half endemic to the island, several hundred types of ferns, trees and other plants it’s no wonder many of us don’t know the names of most of them.

But don’t for one second think that because we can’t call a flower by its given name that we don’t care about them. We are passionate about our flowers. Get a group of women together and the conversation will eventually get around to flowers. And if a friend, neighbor or stranger has something we don’t have, we are not above asking for a cutting.

I love flowers and enjoy discovering (to me) new ones and re-discovering those I haven’t seen in a while. But since I don’t have a green thumb, I settle for photographing them. I’ll leave it up to you to tell me their names.

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