Live ‘aloha’ in our homes, gardens and businesses

By Norman C. Bezona

University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Cooperative Extension Service

The holiday season is upon us with Thanksgiving this coming Thursday and Christmas just around the corner, but in Hawaii we should give thanks throughout the year!

We say “Lucky Live Hawaii” and “Hawaii no ka oi.” We say “live aloha,” but do we really accept these concepts in our every day lives? Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on our blessings, and with New Years resolutions right around the corner, it is a time to put these concepts into every day practice.

This year, Voltaire Moise and I had projects and meetings in the Caribbean and Peru. So we saw folks living from tropical climates to the high Andes. Nowhere did I experience the wealth of resources we have in the U.S. Most folks were living much as they had for generations. The one exception was that it seemed everyone had a smart phone. Times are changing in the remote villages of the Andes and even the Amazon, but wherever we went, folks seemed to be thankful for what little they have.

On the way home we returned through South Florida. In South Beach where we stayed for several days, we saw tremendous wealth and glitz, but folks didn’t seem very happy. Even though there are similarities between Hawaii and Florida, politics, drugs, cultural tensions and poverty seem to weigh heavily on Floridian we met. By contrast, coming home did make me acutely aware just how special Hawaii is. Growing up in Hawaii with Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and other spiritually guided folks makes it easier to appreciate our diversity. We have almost every culture and ethnicity represented in our population. In many ways, it is also reflected in our Hawaiian gardens.

Plants that can be only grown as houseplants elsewhere are easy to grow around our homes. Where else in the U.S. but in the makai areas of Hawaii can a person harvest pineapples, citrus, mangoes, papayas, bananas and avocados throughout the year and in the mauka areas, enjoy apples, plums, strawberries and peaches?

Speaking of houseplants, I visited my dentist last week and they had an office full of plastic plants. … in Hawaii! But after making a comment that I wasn’t sure if I could trust my health to a doctor or dentist that couldn’t keep a plant alive, he assured me that he would try the living plants if I could give him ideas on what would do well. That was easy since we have a tremendous number of garden plants that do well in the home or business setting. I suggested pothos, sanseveria, rhapis and kentia palms as starters. These are considered cast iron toughies. I did remind him that even hardy plants need an occasional vacation for recovery when they begin to look a bit stressed.

A garden in Hawaii is more than just a place of beauty. It is an extension of the home. It is an outdoor living-room that colorfully changes each day with the blooming of hibiscus, bougainvilleas, jacarandas and orchids. Day and night enjoyment of the outside living-room is heightened by the fragrance of night-blooming jasmine, gardenias, gingers, and other less well known exotics. Folks who like annuals keep up a barrage of color with impatiens, salvia, petunias, zinnias and marigolds. Colorful clashes like this are excelled only by multicolored croton and ti beds.

Gardening here is different than anywhere else in the United States. Plants like philodendrons, palms and orchids, often grow with little care in the yard, home and in the wild.

Our native plant life is a unique blend of tropical, subtropical and northern species. In a typical lowland wooded area, you can often find hala and ohia shading endemic ferns and peperomias. In higher elevations, we have koa and ohia trees with branches festooned in ferns and lichens.

Many of these plants came to Hawaii by way of the ocean currents, migrating birdlife and early Polynesians explorers. But most of the plants we find in gardens today were brought in by plant enthusiasts from Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas. Some introductions found their new home so ideal that they went “wild” or naturalized. The coffee, mango, avocado, kukui, macadamia, coconut and guava are just a few examples. At any rate, we have a vast variety of plants from which to choose when landscaping our homes, businesses and communities.

In having this tremendous plant pallet, we must know more about the growth habits and requirements of plants on our farms and in our gardens. What grows well in Kailua-Kona may do poorly in Hilo. Elevation affects temperature and of course temperature affects the way plants grow. So, our island is not quite perfect for each and every plant. The temperature seldom goes above 90 degrees or below 50 degrees, but there is an occasional frost in our high mountain areas. And above 8,000 feet, frost may occur on any night of the year.

The soil varies from beach sand to the deep volcanic soils and may be acid or sweet. When choosing plants, we must consider our particular location, and choose our plants accordingly. If we live makai, we can grow all the coconuts, mangoes, papaya, bananas and other tropical fruits we and our neighbors could ever use. If we live higher inland (500 to 1500 feet) and on the acid soils, we can grow many of the tropical fruits and ornamentals, plus some of the northern plants like persimmons, azaleas and maybe even peaches and apples. The richer soils enable us to grow the finest vegetables and flower gardens imaginable. We take it for granted but how lucky we are to pick a bouquet of roses, a basket of tomatoes and fresh green leafy vegetables in June or November.

The differences in design of local gardens are almost as great as the variations of plants. Some folks landscape to give a pantropical effect by using lots of palms, bananas, heliconias, orchids, bamboos and bromeliads. To the other extreme we have gardens with the desert look. This is done by using yuccas, agaves, cactus and rock. Some of the most beautiful public and private gardens found anywhere in the tropics are within an easy drive. In cooler sections we can create the tropical montane effect or oriental effect with sugi pines, podocarpus and even redwood trees. Of course, we can also focus on native plants by planting only native species.

Our rural family farms, and landscaping around any neighborhood, can give you ideas on what to do with your little “piece of paradise.”

Gardening is great for everyone. In Hawaii, gardening is a family affair and now is a great time to give thanks for the diversity of our people and the gardens we create.

This Thanksgiving, let’s all resolve to plan, plant and work together. Let’s celebrate our many blessings and look for the good qualities in one another. Hopefully, then can we help make this a better world starting at home.