This photo was taken while vacationing in the Bahamas, on an estate owned by the late Bob Marley, whose wife Rita now runs the property as a guest resort. Situated away from the main tourist area, the main house features a sitting room that pays homage to her husband and his music. The grounds were a wonderland of lush tropical gardens, amidst which I spotted this exotically coloured and unusually shaped bud. Only months later, when I decided to submit the image to the 2010 World Wildlife Fund’s annual calendar contest did I finally discover its identity as a banana flower. The image was selected and appears on the May page.