Mark your calendar and don’t miss the Kona Orchid Society Orchid Show and Plant Sale Saturday, May 13 at the Old Kona Airport from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Of course there will be orchids but there will also be air plants, Proteas, cactus, fruit trees, water plants as well as herb and vegetable plants. There will also be jams, jewelry, pots and folks to answer your plant questions.
May Day is Lei Day but in Hawaii nei, we celebrate flowers of all kinds all year long. Traditionally, everyone should be wearing flowers. Fragrant plumeria, pikake, tuberose, puakenekene and orchid leis are appropriate gifts since it is soon to be Mother’s Day. Wahine and kane may wear flowers in their hair here. Of course in islands to the south like Tahiti, Samoa and Tonga, you will see islanders adorned with flowers all year long. Tropical Polynesia is well known for using flowers instead of expensive jewels for adornment. That is why folks fill their gardens with flowering shrubs and trees so that they will have an abundant supply at any time.
May is a time to take a look at your garden and community to observe how you can plan and plant to improve your environment.
Native plants are important such as endemic hibiscus species, wiliwili and ohia, and greenery like maile and palapalai fern. However, many of the more spectacular flowers have been introduced in the last 200 years. These include royal poinciana, jacaranda, the cassias or shower trees, many species of tabebuia, and fragrant trees like the ylang ylang and plumeria. The list is so long that it includes of hundred species.
Well-planned areas like Kukio, Hualalai, Mauna Lani, Waiakoloa, and Mauna Kea Resorts are literally being transformed into tropical oases. These are examples showing how individuals can help to beautify and make our environment more enjoyable. Folks can also get involved in the Hawaii Forestry Divisions Forest Stewardship program, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and Hawaii County’s agriculture/forest dedication programs. The latter gives local landowners certain tax savings, and benefits to our island residents by protecting these lands from urban development.
So we see that even small lots add up. By planting flowering trees in your garden, you can actually change the climate and make your surroundings several degrees cooler in the summer. If you place your trees just right, you can even create a garden climate that is milder during cool, windy periods. It’s really interesting when you expand these basic principles. What happens when everyone in your neighborhood or community plants shade trees? Well, you can change the climate over fairly large areas. Foresters have research data that supports the theory that reforestation may increase local rainfall in dry areas and modify temperature extremes. By the way, urban reforestation is what is happening when lots of folks in a neighborhood or town plant trees. Another advantage is that by using flowering trees that are fragrant like plumeria or angel trumpets, it sweetens the air. Shrubs like pikake and other jasmines further add to that pleasant ambiance.
Now let’s look at the tree planting from another angle. Visitors bring millions of dollars to Hawaii each year. Our sunny winter skies are a big attraction. It used to be that our beaches and tropical woodlands were part of that appeal. Now with urban sprawl on some of our best beaches, our main salvation from endless asphalt alleys is abundant landscaping.
Planting trees to give shade and beautify our communities isn’t the complete answer, but it can help. Shopping is miserable when streets are barren and parking lots are hot and uncomfortable. Hotels, restaurants and gas stations that are attractively landscaped with shade trees, shrubs and grass attract customers. Even grocery and department stores are finding that landscaping pays off.
In Hawaii, we have hundreds of plants, both native and nonnative from which to choose. Those plants that arrived in Hawaii before the first human contact are considered natives. Those plants that arrived with the aid of Polynesians, Europeans, Asian, African, South American or other groups of people settling here are considered introduced. Whether native or non-native plants, by keeping abundant vegetation as an integral part of our human communities, we find a constant connection with our natural world.
