Those who have visited the Wailoa Center lately to view its art displays or enjoy the surrounding state park might have wondered, “What’s going on with the area around the center and what happened to all the plants?”
“Well, the idea for changing the vegetation around the perimeter wall started when Wailoa’s longtime volunteer landscaper, Morris Nakaishi, decided to retire after more than 30 years,” explains Wailoa Center Director Codie King. “It was a mutual decision between Morris and me. The ginger and bougainvillea was just becoming too much of a monster to handle for either of us to maintain. It was time to say goodbye and dig it up.
“Mr. Nakaishi is now my garden consultant and will always be a part of the Wailoa Center team. Mahalo Morris!”
King said ongoing plans for the area outside the perimeter wall evolved and developed into the future installation of a Hawaiian cultural garden. Plans were drawn up by a core of knowledgeable volunteers and plants are being donated by various organizations and members of the community.
“This will be an educational, working garden designed around Hawaiian cultural crafts and practices,” King said.
There are five gardens planned for different plants: medicinal, dye, cordage, canoe and lei.
“We will also be creating a lo‘i for different varieties of kalo,” King said. “There will be a gravel pathway around the outside of the gardens with signage to identify the various plants. We also hope to grow what we will need for future workshops and demonstration of Hawaiian cultural crafts.”
Current activity is phase one of the gardens.
“I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, so to speak,” King said. “We will be calling for volunteers in the near future once the area is prepared and we start to plant.
“This garden has the potential to grow according to the amount of volunteers and community resource groups who want to participate. Once the garden is installed, there will be a weekly garden day set aside to maintain and take care of all the plants.”
King said she realized awhile back that not all of the visitors to Wailoa Center like art or what they have on display. Most visitors, local and off-island, love plants and want to know more about the plants that grow in Hawaii and what they were used for, she said.
“We are looking at the 50th anniversary of Wailoa Center next year (2017) and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate its past by creating a future that encompasses the ideas of art, culture and nature we can explore to further enrich our lives,” King said.
