Friday, October 30, 2009

Walking around the garden....Queen Liliuokalani Park


One of my favorite gardens is Liliuokalani Park in downtown Hilo which is a large 30 acre garden right on Hilo Bay, next to all the old hotels on Banyan Drive. I regularly take walks around the Japanese garden to get inspiration for a small scale garden that I eventually plan on developing in my property. There are many beautiful bridges to cross over little lagoons, and various paths that lead to different vistas around the garden with amazing views of Hilo Bay and the city. There are also koi ponds, pagodas, various statues, and a Japanese tea house frequently in use. My morning walk includes the bridge walk to Coconut Island which also has amazing vistas. There is a remnant of a stone tower that was part of the original footbridge and is now used by locals to jump off into the bay.







Thursday, October 29, 2009

Whats growing in the garden today....

I usually like to walk in the garden every morning after the morning rain here in orchid land....usually just to squish all the slugs and snails that come out in droves after the morning rain. Its also the best time to check out whats blooming and what fruits are almost ready to pick. Its amazing that only after living here for a year, I'm already starting to harvest my own fruits and vegetables including oranges, limes, pineapple, papaya (almost ready), okra, peppers, spinach, eggplant and a slew of herbs.

Of course I'm also spending a lot of time just eradicating weeds, weeds and more weeds. You know, it seems like you blink the the weed becomes a shrub, you blink again and then its a tree. I've been putting my lawn mower to use with the weekly mowing and helps with all the mulch I'm starting to collect and spread to other areas of the garden that are nutrient deficient. Even though everything is green I also have to spread fertilizers regularly since the cindered soil leeches nutrients very quickly and makes some plants look quite anemic and susceptible to diseases. Unfortunately its usually the plants (weeds) that you don't take care of that tend to outgrow everything else.

At least I'm successful with some of the plants I've featured below.






The papayas are almost ready to be picked...unless I decide to make green papaya salad instead.



The tangerines are tangy and sweet depending on how soon I get out to pick them.


Even the weeds are growing strong around the lion.


Here's a hybrid New Guinea Impatient with variegated leaves, I'm going crazy over all the amazing varieties available and how easy they are to propagate.

I love tropicals, this anthurium is over a foot long with amazing colorations....

What new surprises are coming out today?

This Buddha is starting to get overwhelmed by a patch of coleus that started at 4inches and is now over four foot tall and overtaking the rest of the garden bed.

The Plant Whore Begins....a juicy start

Welcome to my new blog about my obsessions of discovering, designing and collecting new plants that I see here in the Big Island. Hawaii is truly a blessed place of amazing flora and I'm ready to explore new areas, tour gardens, nurseries and do the naughty things a plant whore would do when no-one is looking. I'm enjoying picking up my camera again to see some amazing plants to add to my blog.


Here's a few pics for you to enjoy on some of my discoveries just to get you tempted..









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