Color In Our Jungle

We live in a world of green. Lots and lots of green in all shades and all textures. But there is also color in our jungle. Here are some pictures that I took this morning from the lanai.

Spring is a time on the mainland for Rhododendron's to bloom. So too is it in Hawaii. These are Vireya Rhododendrons and they have one very distinct advantage over the temperate varieties: They bloom off and on all year round, but many varieties are especially nice in spring.

This Vireya, which is also in the picture above, is an un-named variety that was hybridized very early in the horticultural history of the plants in Hawaii.

This lovely double red hibiscus came to us as a cutting many years ago.

The Vireya in this picture and the one below is Kamrau Bay which is a prolific bloomer and, as you can see, can become a very large plant.

Universe Makes a Promise

Have you ever thought about the fact that spring is very much a promise from the Universe that life continues. It is a time for us to celebrate new beginnings. It is a rainy Friday morning, but I took advantage of a small break in the rain to gather some pictures to share with you.

Notice the buds in the center of the older growth on this vireya rhododendron and all the new growth. The buds are a promise of blooms to come sometime this year. They can take a long time to mature, and the new growth is a promise that my plant wants to keep growing for me.

There were a few blossoms on this lovely lady, but the buds promise of many more to come. This was just one spray on the tree which has probably three additional sprays also ready to burst into bloom over the next week or so.

And this tiny little blossom is the promise of cardamom to come. This is the flower of the cardamom ginger. If we are very lucky, we will have seeds this fall. I say lucky because we have to rely on our friends the bees and humming bird moths to pollinate them and sometimes they don't visit as regularly as we would like. You can read more on cardamom ginger here.

The tree ferns are one of the plants that make our property feel like Hawai`i. Beautiful and graceful, they provide lovely dappled shade for other plants to grow beneath them. And these two promise that they will remain with their new fronds starting.

It will be late August or September before this white pineapple is ready for harvest, but they are worth the wait.

Palm trees are very much bent on continuing their place in our land. Look at the number of flowers on this plant. Because of its location and the rain, I doubt that very many of them will mature to seeds; but this is a young tree and I'm sure the opportunity for more will come again.

And a promise of bananas. Until you have eaten a banana ripe from the tree, you really haven't eaten a banana.

And sometimes spring is a time of harvest. These are mountain apples (syzygium malaccense) which were a canoe plant that came with the native Hawaiians when they landed in the islands. The fruit is pear shaped and bright red with a crisp texture and a slightly sweet flavor. Some people use them in baking just as you would regular apples.

So I say thank you to Universe for your spring time promise and for the beauty with which you bless this land.

And Then There's Love

Love comes in all forms and types. This blog entry talks of the love of legends and the love one can have for a an area and a beautiful plant that graces it.

Of all the beautiful places on this island, my favorite is The Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. I walk into this land of Tutu Pele with a feeling of love, awe and thankfulness that I am able to be there. It is beautiful no matter what the weather or her moods.

Recently we were able to spend time in the park on two different occasions and it just underscored for me how much I love to be there.

Pele has been very active of late and I'm sure many of you have seen footage of the recent flows. This picture was taken in September of 2009 at an early stage in the recent activity in the Halema`uma`u crater. The day was rather dark and stormy and I was walking along the edge of the crater rim during a break at a retreat. There is no more spiritual place for me than this location.

There is a tree of legend that adds so much beauty to this island, to Pele's park, and to my life. The legend goes something like this:

There was a young Hawai`ian man, some say a chief, whose name was Ohia. This young man was very much in love with a beautiful girl named Lehua. But as happens in many legends, their love was not to be. The Goddess Pele found the young man Ohia to be very handsome and desired him for herself. But Ohia was true to his love for Lehua. In her anger, Pele, turned Ohia into a twisted tree with gray bark and gray green leaves. When Lehua discovered what had been done to her love, she begged the other gods to please change him back. But Pele's magic was powerful and they were unable to do so and it looked like Lehua was to be forever parted from her beloved. But the gods had a solution: They turned Lehua into a beautiful red flower and placed her among Ohia's leaves. And to this day the two lovers are together in the form of the beautiful Ohia Lehua tree.

I never get over my love and fascination with the beautiful Ohia Lehua tree. When we walk in the park, I will say to myself that this time I won't take pictures of it. After all, I have hundreds. But with every walk, I add to my collection because it is so lovely in all its forms. Here are few recent pictures from my collection:

This lovely specimen was growing out of a crack in the lava on the trail to the Petroglyphs. The Ohia is usually the second plant to grow in the lava fields after an eruption. The first is the fern.

This close up shows the blossom in all its stages: the bud, the bloom, a recent seed pod, and an older seed pod. And in the background you can see the edge of the crater of Kilauea with the Halema`uma`u crater just inside it.

The trees are even beautiful in death.

And the lava from which all this beauty grows.

And so we have love: love of place, love of tree and the love of legends. Each one special and perfect for it's time and season.