An Orchid Fashion Show in Hawaii

 

 

One of the best new events at the Orchid Show this year was a the orchid fashion walk and it was really spectacular to see beautiful women and one orchid creature strut down the runway.

 

 

 

There were all shapes and sizes of orchids worn by Hilo Orchid Society members, donning their best show outfits to complement their flower installations like this beautiful off the shoulder arrangement below.

 

 

 

 

 

What a beautiful smile and don't you love the photo with the dendrobiums in the back of her gown, the white against ruby red sets off the orchids perfectly don't you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another beautiful model with victorian regalia and large orchids to match her jewelry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is our victorian lady below with a more proper collection of yellow oncidiums to match her hat,  below you will see her in her orchid garden room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whats a fashion show without a bride and this model steals the show with her almost all white orchid ensemble of dendrobium and oncidium orchids...below is a detail shot and complete outfit.

 

 

 

 

 

Watch out its a major orchid collection walking down the catwalk!

I love this last photo, it shows how everyone really loves their orchids on their outfits, even zany ones work at this show!

Well that was a first for this year, and hopefully more to come. It was a fun event to see and I hope that you enjoyed our first orchid fashion show.

This is my contribution fertilizer friday, visit here to see other flowers in the world todayhttp://www.tootsietime.com/
 

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

 

Wearing or making leis today is special as the first day in May is our lei day and lei celebrations happen throughout the islands.

 

There are so many different types of leis from very simple strands to very elaborate displays.

 

Of course, the scented leis like the plumerias below just add to the special feeling and smell of wearing one of these beautiful leis today.

 

 

Orchid leis below are made with many flowers and are colorful and dramatic to wear.

 

Its fun to have events and tokens to celebrate days like Lei Day in Hawaii. Have a great May lei day!

I’m sharing this on fertilizer Fridays, to see more inspiring gardens today go visit http://www.tootsietime.com/

Its so Embarrassing…..

Yes, we gardeners have dirty secrets hidden and not always willing to admit, but I’ll let you in on my secret if it will prompt me to really make changes and soon!





I must confess, I would have never mentioned this if not for the fact that I had a big Christmas party and it was obvious to all my guest that came early before night fall -  what a sorry view and state things had become. What is it you may ask? Well if you take a look beyond the Christmas decorations - the view directly into the side yard is completely horrendous and looking directly into my neighbors driveway.

Fortunately, most of the event was in the evening so it was hard to see beyond the dark windows, but take a look. Here is the view during the daytime from the dining room.





Ah, I’ve lived with this view for quite awhile and never done anything about it….shameful isn’t it? It just keeps getting worse with junk trees, huge piles of sleeping grass, intertwined weeds and tall cane grass and who knows what else in this pile of green.




Always making excuses and too busy to acknowledge this real eyesore, I just chalked it up as a storage area and staging place for my potted plants.

The problem is I had to walk this route almost every time I wanted to go to the back yard, making it a depressing experience.




But let me say, in the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted to make this side garden and the view from my dining room more lush, tropical and screened for privacy. I’m almost embarrassed to say I’ve never done anything to this eyesore until I finally decided to take out the Satellite dishes and opt for ones on the roof, leaving me an open area and exposing my neighbors dull front yard as my viewing area.

So now I’m ready to take in this challenge and start making changes and my potted plants below are ready to be planted into their new space.

Here are some of the choices below that will fill this huge 15 x 75 foot space.


I have some lovely potted palms including this red sealing wax palm -

Cyrtostachys renda

I’m really fond of Acalyphas, this one is called inferno firestorm. They are like japanese maples, but the tropical version that can be grown in humid environments. Don't these look like a maple to you?




I have some potted white bauhinias on this yard, hopefully I can yank them out from their pot bound roots at this junction.





Of course I do have a variety of variegated ti plants, this one has a beautiful flowered spike blooming at the moment.




Another favorite ginger plant, this alpinia called Vittata is used ornamentally for its foliage, the flowers are small and insignificant.




I have propagated a few more of these pink medinellas and I think they can make a nice tall screen from the neighbors driveway.





This very large yellow hibiscus is against the front door and is already hitting the eaves. I think its time to move this large guy if it isn’t too late already. Fortunately, I’m not afraid of making big moves like this.




I love this variegated green and white gardenia shrub, it has small but sweetly scented flowers.
Here is a close up of the leaves below,  pretty isn't it?





Another favorite plant is this red smoke bush tree - cotinus coggygria. They grow so well in this area and are very easy to propagate. This one is propagated into a one gallon container is ready to be planted in full sun!





So you can see, I do have some favorites that can cover the area, now how to start and what to tackle first.


Well that’s where I’m open to any and all suggestions on what would work in this large space. I’m open to hearing any suggestions from all my gardening friends and gardening wanna be’s…please help. How can I make this side garden shine – I do have some ideas but want to get more ideas from all my gardening friends

...come on now don’t be shy!

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/

A Beautiful Art Garden

Everytime I travel to a new location, I always make it a habit to visit a local art center or coop. It really gives me a great impression of what local artists feel about their area and their interpretations of what makes their town or city unique.

Sometimes its a treat when you find a special place that combines art, sculpture and a beautiful garden to encompass all of the wonderful elements in discovering a new area.

This is how I feel when I find something worthwhile or accidentally walk into a place like the Mendocino Art Center - an amazing place that combines art, music, theather and other creative endeavors into a beautiful center. While I was viewing the wonderful artwork in the galleries, I saw their calendar of amazing performances and classes being offered in the spring, and I was really tempted to come back and spend more time in this area and take a ceramics or watercolor class. (Wished we had something like this in East Hawaii) I can just be a spunge and feel all the creative juices flowing while I'm in an inspiring place like Mendocino which really is a special place for art.

Big picture windows with views to the gardens were luring me out after tiring from all the visual stimuli. I couldn't wait to see some fantastic interplay of art with flora.

I just had to rush out and take a picture of these giant sunflowers, I would love to tuck these into my suitcase to take back home to Hawaii.... I'm sure they would look amazing when the blue echiums in this section start to bloom.

I've always dreamed about doing a driftwood sculpture, this piece just takes it to another level - isn't it just the most creative piece - made with found objects!

Mosaics like this are perfect in this environment and can weather this cool and moist area - I love the colorful display even when the garden is asleep in winter.

Strangely, the giant aeoniums, match this little head so well in the garden and the spent blooms of the lavendar add more texture to this assemblage.

 This sleeping bust, fits in so well to this rose shrub, some thoughful care has been spent to sighting the sculptures well to the garden.

Another mosaic piece with some robust succulents that do very well in this area. I love this vignette.

Garden critters are abundant in this garden also, and you can take them all home for a souvenir.

 This amazing bench really make a statement, it just commands this area, don't you just love it?

  - another critter lurking in the shady areas of this garden, I think its a little shy of visitors.

Isn't this a sweet place, I could hang out in this garden for a bit and think about making some beautiful art in my garden also. Hope you enjoyed the tours of Mendocino -its time to head back into the city.

This is my contribution to fertilizer friday to view more gardens go to http://www.tootsietime.com/