One of the most beautiful plants that we enjoy at Tranquilo Bay´s gardens is the Verbena plant. If you ask a botanist, he will define the “verbena”as an organism belonging to the Plantae Kingdom. Angiosperm, Eudicot, Asterid from the genus Stachytarpheta in the Verbenaceae family of the Order Lamiales.

But if you ask us, at Tranquilo Bay, we will define it as “one of the most valuable ornament” in the tropical gardens that surround us. It is not one of the most precious specie just because of her beauty, but because the magnetic powers it has to attract many other flying gems that inhabit or visit this land.

If you ask Natalia, the magnetic full-grown verbena plants are now a reward from work well done. After planting and taking care of them, the results are wildlife actively visiting the plant. This allows us to take great action shoots of feeding behavior of butterflies and bees, the playful Bananaquit or of many striking hummingbirds that visit it. If you ask the different species of wildlife what the verbena plant is to them, they would surely tell you that it is paradise on Earth, an endless source of nectar in its countless flowers, they will probably refer to it as the great “provider” it is.

Imagine you could ask the rare migrant in the Caribbean coast of Panama, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird that has been hosted by Tranquilo Bay´s verbena plants for some weeks ( 2 years in a row always at the end of February) what the Verbena flower nectar means to it, after an exhausting migration from the United States. Or for the Blue-chested Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird or the Stripe-throated Hermit that are extremely common visitors and spend their days feeding on it, or to the Green-breasted Mango, …

The verbena plant is a wildlife magnet, which makes it a great attraction for us who enjoy being able to see and capture a gorgeous wild animal “living its life”.