Farmers Market in East Hawaii

 

Its always fun combining shopping for groceries, entertainment and eating and buying some new plants from growers all in a one place. That’s why I enjoy going to the farmers market at Maku’u in East Hawaii, there’s a lot of activity and colorful stalls filled with fresh produce, plants, food stalls and services like massage and tarot readings.

Farmers Markets and Local Grinds - Images by Noel Morata

This slide show from my website shows various scenes of what you can find at our local market here, it’s a great place to hang out and just enjoy the day….anyone up for a Hawaiian shaved ice cone?

The Hot, the Loud and the Proud #12

Show us your tropicals and exotics, your hot Mediterranean colors and wild combinations, amazing discoveries and unusual variations. Or how about something exciting you just saw, a crazy garden,  amazing garden art or design, an inspiring visit or hike?


This meme is open to all (you do not have to live in an exotic location to participate)  and will be on the last day of each month…so mark your calendars and lets do something fun on the hot, the loud and the proud meme. I’ll have the link available early, east coast time (USA) to catch you early birds and even earlier for those of you in other countries.

I was going to a wonderful Yurt Expo down in Opihikao to write a column for our monthly Hawaii publication when the owner invited me to take a walk around her beautiful garden and I was inspired to show you her garden for today's meme.

 The property is actually a balinese type home that the owner leases out as a vacation rental property with a few small pavilions. Above is the entryway to one of the larger pavilions with and exotic garden entryway filled with dracaenas, ti plants, palms, yuccas and crotons, all displaying a welcoming aloha.

Huge bundles of orchids are attached to palm trees like this big cluster of white dendrobiums, this variety has a nice sweet smell when you come up close for a smell.

The eco resort has some fun outside clawfoot tubs that lie beyond the banana trees here and you have spectacular coastal views of the ocean below and the colorful gardens in the background.

I always love how colorful bottles are presented into sculpture pieces like this one. The owner has quite a few interspersed in many areas of her gardens. This section is filled with many different varieties of anthuriums.

Another bottle tree sculpture amid a big collection of bromeliads and many varieties of palm trees.

Agave attenuata amid a rangy begonia plant which seems to be popping up in every wonderful dark corner of this garden area.

Another look at an entrway to another pavilion with colorful foliaged plants like crotons, rubber tree, pygmy dates palms and cardboard palms.

This twelve acre estate has a grand driveway with grassy areas and huge trees like this gorgeous monkeypod tree and many mature palms.

 I love this variegated rubber tree plant - it has so many shades of pinks and greens and is just stunning against the light. This shrub sized plant reaches about eight foot in height at the moment.

I tasted some of these ripe acerola cherries, a tropical sweet and tarty version of a cherry with a large pit. This is the season for these fruits which can last at least two months long here.

The owner has a large tropical orchard that she allows her guests harvest their own fruits any time of the day.

The pommelo to the left is the size of a large orange, the mature one on the right is about 12 inches in diameter...its huge!

This is a soursop fruit, the fruit here dangles low to the ground on this tree which makes it very easy for harvesting. The fruit has a creamy white texture and is a combination of pineapple, peach and quite tarty if not ripe.

To see other scenic sundays go and visit http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoyed the tour of this wonderful place in Opihikao in East Hawaii. To visit some other lovely gardens today for the Hot meme click on the links below.

The Big Event

 

One of our largest nursery/plant sales in Hawaii Island happens twice yearly in the spring and early fall season. Called the BIAN plant sale or the Big Island Association of Nurserymen, it is truly a big shopping spree of the largest growers specializing in everything from palms, bamboos to tropical fruits,  exotic specimens, foliage plants, colorful flowers, to just about everything that can grow successfully on Hawaii island, which encompasses 13 of the world’s 15 growing zones.  It is held in one of our largest stadiums in Hilo, and every inch of the area is covered with seductive and exciting new plants being introduced for the season.

 

 

 

There’s always an army of friendly and expert growers in yellow to answer any and all questions about a specific plant or growing condition.

 

 

 

Before the weekend show starts at 5pm on a Friday, there is a line snaking out the stadium where its held and it takes a whole stadium to fill out with all these amazing varieties of plants. When the doors open, all the aisles are cleared and open – you just know its going to be a stampede… No, really its not that crazy, people are quite courteous and generous in their knowledge of plants, experiences and ideal growing conditions, making this a very pleasant experience, meeting new growers and discovering new plants to introduce into your gardens.

 

 

 

 

I’m sure you know the feeling about looking for hidden treasures and these hunters are all very serious in their search for treasure. Its a real treat to see this and take pictures at the same time. There’s always a lot of smiles and joy in finding something really unique and the gardeners here really expect something unusual or different from these nurserymen.

 

 

If your into colorful flowers and plants, you have come into the right place.

 

 

Or, how about choosing some of these exuberant orchid plants?

 

 

 

It looks like this hunter has found his treasure and is holding it tight all the way to check out…it is a gorgeous cattleya, why didn’t I see that first?

 

If your ever in Hilo for the annual BIAN sale, you should check this out, it is alot of fun and you just might be tempted to take home a few plants or in most cases a trunk load!

 

To enjoy more posts on scenic sundays go to http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Lets Try Some Exotic Fruit at the Farmers Market.

I'm traveling to another local farmers market in Hilo Town on the Big Island to explore and taste some of our more exotic fruits that we have to offer on the Island. There are alot of fruit growers on the island and the farmers market here in Hilo is the largest. It is open seven days a week, but it is the most active on Wednesdays and Saturdays when they also have the adjoining facility open for tourist gifts and other local handi-crafts.


Here are some of the more exotic and not so unusual fruits we currently have in season.

Come and try this Mamey Sapote, it has red flesh with creamy and sometimes grainy texture that tastes like bananas and yogurt combined, very subtle flavors.

This is a Rambutan fruit which grows in clusters and is a similar fruit to the lychee. The fruit tastes like a more flavorful lychee and has a flowery aroma.

Oh, you should try this one, its one of my favorites called a atemoya, doesn't it look scaly and daunting. The flesh is very creamy and tastes like a pineapple, guava and banana combination, and its smells heavenly.

Here's another favorite of mine called Rollinias, the flesh is white and soft custardy. A combination tast of guava, banana and passion fruit.

Have you ever seen this fruit? Its called an egg fruit, boy the flavors on this one are a little bit harder to describe, kind of like a combination of a plum and papaya

Here's another unusual fruit that is in season called an abiu, it has a large seed and the flesh is white and creamy, again a mix of plum and pineapple flavors.

Oh, we get alot of fruit from this tree when its in season, its called a star fruit and most restaurants use this typically as a garnish because it cuts up perfectly into a start shape, the fruit is pretty mellow, like a crunchy apple

Wow, that was a lot to sample, wasn't that great, now you know what to pick up on your own when you come over to visit the farmers market in Hilo Town, aloha.