11 February 2010 by Shari.

So, you thought maybe it was time to prune back all the material that had suffered from the cold spell in January…..Good thing you didn’t! It looks like we are having more cold weather today and rain to boot! With the soaking we are getting and the temperatures that are frosty, it looks like everything is going to take a while to dry out but will be ok.

How does your garden look?

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11 February 2010 by Robert.

Previously, I wrote about the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden near Hilo, Hawaii (the Big Island). That garden taught me tons about what plants grow in the islands. On our next island, Oahu, we visited another garden.

The Waimea Valley Audubon Center (formerly known as the Arboretum) consists of a paved walk from the Visitor Center to Waimea Valley Falls (about ¾ of a mile). Many visitors aren’t interested in the plants as they come to swim and picnic at the falls.

But I was really interested in the plants. The paved path follows the direct path to the falls but we decided to venture onto the dirt paths to explore the plants more closely. Following the other paths increased our walk to maybe 2 to 2 ½ miles total.

We noticed that the areas were planted with plants from other areas around the world with climates similar to Hawaii. That is where I learned the difference between native, introduced, and indigenous plants. For your information, I have listed the differences here:

·              Native: Plants brought to a location without the help of man, such as by wind, wave and or birds.

·              Endemic: Plants that are native and can be found ONLY in that location. These are plants that have evolved over time from ‘native’ plants.

·              Indigenous: Plants that are native but can be found elsewhere.

·              Alien or Introduced Species: Plants that were not brought to that location naturally, but by man, such as the Polynesian. The common guava is one example.

Since this park was devoted to mostly “Introduced” or “Indigenous” plants, we didn’t get to see many “Endemic” plants. Still, the park tries to educate you about plants that have been eliminated in their native lands and plants that are considered endangered.

One plant we learned about was a tree considered poisonous. In fact, all parts of this tree are hazardous including the fruit. When ripe, the fruit will fall from the tree and explode when it hits the ground. That is how the seeds are distributed away from the parent tree. Cool, but the name of the tree wasn’t listed on the caution sign.

Overall, I was very disappointed in this park. Of course, some areas educated me about certain plants but the most interesting ones were not labeled.  I would have been much happier if they concentrated on teaching more about their plants. Or, if I had visited this garden before the Hawaiian Tropical Gardens!

It is a worthwhile trip as long as you bring mosquito repellent! Those insects dined extremely well on my Texas blood! And the drive along the windward coast to get there was rewarding in itself.

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9 February 2010 by Robert.

The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is located about 8 miles north of Hilo, Hawaii, and is along a four-mile Scenic Route at Onomea Bay. During our recent vacation, we ensured we had enough time to make a stop here and the time was well spent. First, be sure to bring mosquito repellent with you. This imported critter does like the area.

Next, the path through the park is not easy and some parts are not wheelchair accessible. The path is well marked and mostly paved but the climb back out can be difficult.

But it is all worth the effort! You start the walk down a 500 foot elevated boardwalk that goes along the Kahalii Stream. This ravine is covered with giant bamboo, bananas, flowering vines, orchids and ferns. One of the first items I noticed was the SIZE of the plants! Bamboos were well in the 50 foot high range.

Our favorite area was filled with nothing but orchids. We took over 50 photos just of the different colors and shapes of orchids in the small garden (which overlooked their tropical bird aviary).

Although the Onomea Falls (a three-tiered waterfall) brought us a sense of serenity, the Heliconia Trail amazed us with over 80 different species of these colorful flowerheads. The Heliconias ranged in size from about 2 foot to about 20 foot high with numerous shapes and sizes! In case you didn’t know it, at one time, Heliconias were classified the same as bananas but now are considered a separate family. What I thought were flowers were actually highly modified leaves called bracts. My favorite, and possibly the largest, bracts were from the hanging lobster.

There are several other areas such as Banyan Canyon, Bromeliad Hill, and the Vistas (Wi-apple Vista, Coconut Vista, and Monkeypod Vista) that were side trips we walked down.

The scents and sights were amazing and almost overwhelming in the diversity, color and size.

On your next trip to the Big Island, make sure you plan to stop here for at least 2 hours but preferably for 4 hours. Once you complete your journey, you can also stop and shop to have orchids mailed back to you here on the Mainland.

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