Botanic Gardens untouched

Petrea Volubilis overlooking a pathway as if wondering about the prolonged absence of laughing children at the  the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain last Friday. - Jeff Mayers
Petrea Volubilis overlooking a pathway as if wondering about the prolonged absence of laughing children at the the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

WITH so many people forced into their homes by stay-at-home measures implemented to slow the spread of covid19, nature – the land, sea, rivers, flora and fauna – has had a chance to “rest and relax” over the last few months in TT.

Even at the heart of the nation's capital, plant life thrives at an "untouched" Royal Botanic Gardens last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Beaches, rivers, parks and the like have all been reopened but Newsday’s chief photographer Jeff K Mayers, with permission from the Horticultural Services Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, was able to visit a still-untouched Royal Botanic Gardens last Friday. He was able to capture images of one of the most beautiful green spaces at the heart of Port of Spain for our readers.

Parasitic epiphytes, also known as "air plants," seem to lounge on the branches of a huge tree at the Royal Botanic Gardens last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Newsday's "untouched" series has come to an end but for memories of what our country can look like when given some "breathing room," please visit the links below:

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• Newsday Chief Photographer Jeff K Mayers visited Manzanilla Beach on April 15

• Mayers also visited Macqueripe Bay on April 24

• Newsday photographer Roger Jacob visited Caura River on April 30

• Jacob also visited the Mermaid Pool in Matura on May 7

• Newsday photographer Lincoln Holder visited the  Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir Temple in the Sea, Waterloo, on May 6

• Mayers and Newsday photographer Marvin Hamilton spent time at Icacos Village on May 7 and 14 respectively

• Mayers also explored Chaguaramas on April 24

• Mayers also took his camera with him to the Caroni Bird Sanctuary on June 10

A squirrel enjoys having the Royal Botanic Gardens all to itself last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

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Human footprints seem like a distant memory to this cobbled drain at the Royal Botanic Gardens last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Even the grass seems greener as stay-at-home measures keep visitors away from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

An array of flora find sanctuary in the heart of Port of Spain at the Royal Botanic Gardens. - Jeff Mayers

A palm tree seems sad in the midst of the beauty of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Palm trees tower over the traffic on Queen's Park West at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

A croton plant at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain. - Jeff Mayers

A mossy rock wall along one of the paths at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain. - Jeff Mayers

Normally filled with people, the picnic areas at the Royal Botanic Gardens are undisturbed last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

White petrea volubilis at the the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

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Yellow caution tape hopes to keep visitors out of the picnic huts at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

The remains of an old bridge over a dry tributary of the St Ann's River at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain. - Jeff Mayers

White ixora budding and blooming at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain. - Jeff Mayers

Lobster claw heliconia at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Fallen leaves are about the only thing that have traversed these steps at the Royal Botanic Gardens over the last few months owing to stay-at-home measures implemented to slow the spread of covid19. - Jeff Mayers

Normally teeming with visitors adult and juvenile, pathways at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain remain deserted just before the stay-at-home measures that closed the park were lifted last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Petrea in full brilliance at the  Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Dewdrops cling to Petrea Volubilis at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday morning. - Jeff Mayers

Petrea at the the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

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Bougainvillea in bloom at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Bougainvillea at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

An array of flora find sanctuary in the heart of Port of Spain at the Royal Botanic Gardens. - Jeff Mayers

The Ficus Lawn pathway at the Royal Botanic Gardens last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

An empty bench witnesses the beauty of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

The fruit of the screw pine plant at the Royal Botanic Gardens. - Jeff Mayers

White petrea volubilis at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

A palm tree seems gloomy without visitors under a matching sky at the Royal Botanic Gardens last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

Bougainvillea in bloom at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Port of Spain, last Friday. - Jeff Mayers

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The graves of Lady Thelma and Sir Solomon Hochoy among others at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain. - Jeff Mayers

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