In a Brazilian Garden

My partner had a house in a neighbourhood  near to the centre of the vast Brazilian city, Sao Paulo. Not quite as hot as Rio de Janerio but still very warm with regular late afternoon downpours, the gardens are very lush. The garden was a small walled one and had many plants familiar to me as English garden plants or as pot plants. Codiaeum varigatum, the Croton (left) is well known in the UK as a house plant, and here it is growing as a small shrub through bamboo. Some other familiar plants not shown were a huge camelia, Gardinia, several small tree ferns,oncidium orchids (sadly not in flower when I visited)  and several small leaved azealas.

Pentas lanceolata (syn. carnea) growing through a Leptosperum. I saw it recently on sale as a patio plant in the UK.

Ioxra coccinea or Burning Love was a particular favourite, with vermillion flowers that to me look like Daphnes. However Ioxra is a member of Rubiaceae. The flowers were particularly well set off by the huge leaves of Philodendron that clothed the walls.

Ctenanthe setosa, known in Brazil as maranta -cinza.

Photo taken from the balcony through the palms accross to the tower blocks of Sao Paulo.