bougainvillea boogie #2

When I posted Bougainvillea Boogie last year, I did so to illustrate the visual qualities of this breathtaking tropical plant. But I was mistaken! This year’s examples are far more spectacular. Take a look.

My first example is the only repeat from last year’s post:

This was the penultimate example in that collection, and a comparison reveals that this display is more impressive. I took the photo at the end of October, and I’m puzzled as to why at the moment there is absolutely no sign of colour here whatsoever, given that all the following photos were taken in the last couple of weeks, suggesting that this is the time. However, several more of the locations that I featured last year have also failed to burst forth.

The next photo shows two separate plants in the grounds of a school in Sheung Shui that we cycle past every time we ride out west:

…and this is the kind of thing we see ‘out west’:

This photo was taken along Hang Tau Road, the only exit to the outside world if you live in the village of Hang Tau (unless you ride a bike), while the next photo was taken where an unnamed road is about to join Hang Tau Road.

The following photo was taken on the path between Fanling and Taipo. The Hong Kong government built a dedicated cycle track between the two towns a couple of years ago, but I still use the old path, not least because the new cycle track has subsequently been disrupted by major construction work involving a road tunnel through the mountain to the east. Any sensible planner would have finished this project before building the cycle track, but, then, this is Hong Kong!

However, if you decide to follow the cycle track rather than the path, then you will see this example, outside the entrance to a quasi-industrial site:

The next photo may not seem as impressive, but it was taken from quite a distance. It is located on the banks of the Sheung Yue River and is viewed from the opposite side:

I’ve spent a lot of time recently exploring an area known as Long Valley, between the Sheung Yue and Shek Sheung rivers. There is quite a network of narrow paths here—and some of the most spectacular examples of bougainvillea that I’ve encountered. The next three photos were taken in this area:

The next example can be found in the village of Ma Tso Lung, which wasn’t part of my usual cycling itinerary until I discovered ‘the way of the dragon’ a couple of weeks ago.

I’m struggling to remember where I took the next photo, which I’ve included because it is a redder shade than most of the other examples:

Closer to home, the next photo is of a squatter hut next to an unnamed road that crosses the Ng Tung River:

…while, further downstream, this specimen can be found next to the Drainage Services access road:

The white ‘spots’ are actually the plant’s tiny flowers, the intense red bits being modified leaves, or bracts.

I took the next photo in San Uk Tsuen, the next village to where I live:

You may be thinking at this point that bougainvilleas are always some variant of red, but the next example, also found in San Uk Tsuen, is anything but:

…and I came across this specimen while looking for an alternative way to reach the Hok Tau country trails, east of Fanling, having almost run into wet cement on my usual route in this area:

Several of the examples above could probably be described as ‘pink’, albeit a shocking variant, but I spotted this delicate shade of pink while on ‘the final frontier’, near to the ‘zoological garden’:

My final photo is not particularly special. I just thought that I’d include it because this specimen is located right next to the previous example:

Yes sir! I can boogie.
I can boogie-woogie all day long.