Vacation Time

On vacation to exotic Morrocco and Spain for the month, stay tune for updates when I return.....meanwhile the Hot Meme will be on hiatus for end of this month.

A Botanical Garden at the Zoo

I just love our zoo, it has the most amazing botanical garden I've ever been to. The zoo part actually is just okay, enough to attract many families and busloads of school children on fieldtrips to the local zoo.

 


Entering the zoo is quite drammatic with the palm lined entry of foxtail palms leading to the entrance and immediately to the right is a beautiful pond filled with many types of water lillies. You then enter through a walkway filled with tropical rhododendrons with wonderful scents as you head into the various zoo areas.

The tropical gardens are lovingly maintained by volunteers and many specialized growing clubs including the local palm society, the bromeliad club, the water garden club and lets not forget the Vireya Society. Each club takes care of certain areas where their plants shine in mass profusion and it is apparent that there has been alot of care and placement to make each plant compliment and yet stand out dramatically with all the other tropical abundance from these gardens.

 

A whole stand of red sealing wax palms or Cyrtostachys renda line this pathway, its dramatic don't you think? Here's a close up of a nice cluster with their red culms showing.

A whole stand of aromatic vireyas line the entryway with the palms, its a very dramatic and colorful entrance filled with many colors of reds, oranges, pinks and yellows. Did I mention the wonderful scents these flowers give off in the morning heat?

I just love seeing all the unusual plant combinations that are put together and even changed on a regular basis to make the paths interesting and changing with every season. At this visit, I see that alot of new bromeliads have been placed in many strategic areas to add more texture and color to the pathways, while transitioning from zoo pens to another area adding to the surprise at each segment with tropical foliage and flowers.

 A nice shady area with bromeliads and these large leafed Licuala Elegans, one of my favorite palms trees.

A close up of the white tiger called Namaste, he seems a little gun shy this morning to greet the crowds.

I'm just amazed by the amount of volunteerism happening with all the garden clubs and other volunteers to this zoo. Since admission is free, the organization really relies on the generousity of the various club members to maintain and refresh each of the plant areas with their plant collections. It is truly a labor of love and I hope that if you ever visit Hawaii Island come and visit the zoo and you will be amazed by the spectacular botanical garden we have here besides the animals

This beautiful and exotic ginger bloom was just sitting above the grass, the heavy flower heads made the entire stalk drop down to the ground from the heavy weight.

Beautiful Oncidium orchids are almost on every coconut tree, its such a nice touch.

The bromeliad society has taken alot of care of the large beds of bromeliads throughout the zoo, even placing some in the trees.

Hope you enjoyed the tour, its been a nice day to just explore the zoo today especially when everything is in bloom.

.

This is my contribution to My world, to visit other worlds go to http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

The Hot, the Loud and the Proud #14

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.

 Its finally happened, the long awaited bloom of the Amorphophallus titanium at the zoo happened this week. After a very long budding period, the bloom started to finally open and with it a swarm of flies attracted to the warm rotting flesh smell emanating from its bowels.

A small group of plant friends gathered earlier to cut a hole in the front section to get access of the pollen which will be used to pollinate the plant and other specimens in a budding state.

 

A beautiful detail of the flower petals (spathe) unfolding and the amazing reds and purple hues in the sun.

The total height with the Spadix (tall cone) reaches over seven foot in height making this quite a large specimen.

It was really an amazing plant to observe, let alone the many other admirers that typically would not go to the local zoo to visit this botanical garden which is really an amazing place.

To see other beautiful posts for the Hot, the loud and the Proud, check out the some of the links below.

A Rare Bird in Bloom

 Its been awhile since I've been to our zoo which really is more of a botanical garden with a zoo as a complement. It is quite spectacular.










And this time it is really exciting since we have a rare occurance happening with a bloom of the exotic Amorphophallus titanium. This unusual plant originating from Sumatra is also known as the corpse plant and I'm sure you can assume, the noxious smells that would emanate from the blooming flower to attract its pollenator to come and visit

The edges of the giant flower are starting to color a deep purple, giving us hints that the flower is ready to open its bloom soon.

Fortunately at this point, the flower has not yet opened and there are no offensive smells. Its very unpredictable to know when this will occur since blooms have been registered sporadically and in many other environments that does not mimic each other. So although this state of budding has been in this stage for over a week, it is anyones guess when this will occur.

 

The plant shown is over seven foot in height from the top to bottom, making this quite a large specimen. Hopefully, I will be able to photograph the plant, but since the blooms only happen within a twenty four hour timeframe, the timing is always crucial. But in any case, this show and exotic plant is still amazing at this stage and I'm in awe of its presence.

Here's some more information on the Amorphophallus titanium http://www.gardening-advisor.com/corpse-flower.html


This is my scenic sunday post, to view other scenic sundays go to http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

To see other beautiful flowers in bloom go visit http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Finally, A Beautiful Morning and Sunrise

Its been one storm front following another front the past few weeks filled  with dreary skies. I've also been distracted with travel plans to visit Spain and Morrocco soon in May.

But, seeing blue skies again has prompted me to continue my morning walks here in Hawaiian paradise park and be a part of the magical sunrises that occur in this part of the world.

 

It was a spectacular morning today and I'm enjoying the early sunrise by myself. The scenery is just so dramatic and incredible at this time of the morning, don't you think?  Golden light reflects brightly on the dark cliffs against these huge lava rocks and the waves crash so violently even after each storm - its so exciting to see this early in the day!


For more amazing sky views go visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Orchid Mania

I can never get tired of seeing amazing new orchid species and visiting orchid nurseries in Hawaii. Akatsukas in Volcano is an institution in East Hawaii. I regularly stop by when I'm up in the cooler areas of Volcano visiting friends or touring with some friends.

As you can see they specialize in the very showy cattleya orchids, which is very unusual for the cooler climates of Volcano. But since they are hardened in this cooler climate, the plants end up being hardier, resistant to pests and the flowers are even more intense in coloration and longer lasting.

I love this hot fuschia and red combination named Cattleya-Rlc. Teri Nardini Smigielski, isn't it just a beauty? The striped red and yellow throat just draws you in completely.

They also carry a variety of other orchid species like miltonias, this one a vivid red named Milt. Bert. Field 'Leash' is one of their best selling milts.

 

This un-named Phalaenopsis must be one of their newer hybrids since it was not tagged and did not have a sales tag.  The exciting new color combination of pink and yellow with white edging makes it quite a show stopper - I have a feeling this will become a very popular orchid in their collections.

This orange yellow has a nice lite and sweet scent like perfumed jasmine.

Another on of their popular scented cattleyas called Cattleya-Pot. Mitsuo Akatsuka 'Volcano Queen', the scent was very strong when I visited in the morning time frame.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of Akatsuka's Nursery.  Come and visit other posts for today's flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

The Hot, the Loud and the Proud #13

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.

Its been raining all week and last, too wet to be outside. but not wet enough to go to our bi-annual nurserymen's sale which covers a stadium filled with all the nurseries from around the island.

Come and take a look at the amazing plants for sale below...

This event called the BIAN sale is the largest plant sale on the island. You will find everything from the most exotic orchids, the vast variety of tropical fruits, exciting flowering trees and bamboos to other specialties like hibiscus, vireyas and bromeliad growers.

Here's a find of exotic and lush carnivorous pitcher plants one plant this size was only four dollars, a great deal don't you think?

There's always a big selection of exotic orchid growers at this sale, and they always introduce many of their new hybrids at this show sale. These growers are always mobbed with buyers right from the start and and usually the first to be finished with their plant selections.

There are many anthurium growers showing the latest new hybrids also for sale, its sometimes relaxing and other times a mad dash to pick up whats new.

Hibiscus growers also are very popular here with so many different and exciting colors to choose from.

As you can see plant lovers span all ages from our grandmothers to their grand children.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the Bian sale, whenever you are on the Big Island this event happens twice a year during the spring and fall seasons.




Come and visit other gardens of the world today below