While going through old pictures for my mom’s service, I was surprised to find old photos of Cora’s garden in full bloom. They weren’t the best photos, probably from one of those disposable cameras, but the number of blooms was incredible. And I wanted to share them with you (and I guess she wanted to do the same).
Mom with her Honohono orchids
I’m not sure when these pictures were taken. I probably was on the mainland. I asked my neighbors if they remembered the garden filled with blooms, and they said yes. My parents were always in the yard, working on the plants. I wish I loved gardening as much as they did. My goal is to cut back the number of plants in the garden so it is easier for me to take care of them, keep a few of them alive, and get them to bloom again.
In bloom: Honohono, phalaenopsis, daylilies, amaryllis, desert rose
It’s been a while since my last post. Even though I’ve been making and doing things, I thought I had nothing to post about. Yesterday I took images of what I’ve been doing in Cora’s garden. I’m sharing my progress with you.
The bougainvillea seems to like what I’m doing and has been happily blooming.
I’ve been trying to rescue Mom’s anthuriums and orchid plants. Mom rarely spends time out in her garden anymore. She has a fear of falling since her fall at the beginning of 2019. I’ve been tending the garden since, mostly watering, raking, and weeding.
Giving It a Try
The anthuriums and orchids are badly in need of repotting. I recently decided to dive in and try my hand at it. I couldn’t make it much worst. I researched what potting media was needed and mixed up a batch for the anthuriums. (Lucky for me, I discovered I could use the same mix for the orchids. Whew!)
My game plan with the anthuriums is to get them back into decent shape and rehome them to a cooler climate at a friend’s house. I started with the ones that looked the worst—giving me a chance to learn the process. Mom is no help, as her explanation makes no sense to me as an amateur gardener. She just wanted me to try and see what would happen on my own. Here’s a couple that I think I saved.
Little leaves and shoots have appeared from these leafless transplants. I knew they had some life left in them as their roots were still green. The bigger green leaves you see in the picture are my pakalana plant which is trying to take over the anthurium patch. I think I transplanted about eight plants. Half of them look like they are starting to come back. As for the other half, I’m waiting to see if something will happen. My Auntie M (the Anthurium Whisper) said to give them time.
Keikis
I can’t say Mom’s orchids are in better shape than her anthuriums. Most of her orchids have grown out of their pot size. A big clue is the plant crawling to the edge of the pot and the stems have died back.
I remember my dad making thesecement pots that the orchids are in.
Several of the dendrobiums have keikis (little ones). I read that this happens when the plant is stressed. There is no doubt that several of these plants are stress.
“If an orchid is dying, asexually producing a keiki may be its best chance at passing on its genes.
Because keikis are produced asexually, without pollination, each keiki is genetically identical to its mother plant. Once mature, they’ll have the same flowers as the mother plant.”
This orchid is definitely dying. There are several keikis on it and I’m waiting for their roots to get long enough to plant.
Mom’s orchids maybe old and bit neglected but a few of them still produce beautiful blooms.
Flowers now and soon to be.
I’ve been busy repotting and cleaning up the orchids that have outgrown their pot and planting any keikis that are ready to go. In all of this repotting madness, I do not know any of the names or have visual clues as to what color type of flowers will appear. If there were once markers in the plants, they have long gone with the elements.
Wish my repotted plants luck, I hope I can get them to bloom.
It’s been a while since I posted a Fav Pics. And I was inspired by the blooms in Cora’s garden to look back at my flower shots from my garden in NJ. All the shots are of annuals from the garden center, nothing too fancy, probably on the distress plant rack.
I loved these shots of these pink geranium buds against their velvety green leaves. The buds look like a rosebud. I tried to get a geranium every spring after Mother’s Day. I’d bring them in for the winter with hopes of them surviving till next year.
This is the self-seeding Pentas, which most likely came from the distress plant rack. They are always great to have as they keep blooming.
I bought these garlic chives, so I didn’t have to buy them from the store. They are also self-seeding, like the pentas. These flowers can be eaten, though I haven’t tried them. I used garlic chives in Oisobagi Kimchi (stuffed cucumber) recipe from No Recipe, which is so good. Or simply added to an omelet. Delicious
Here’s a sneak peek of more blooms from my stitching project I’m soon to begin. This is the Hexagon cushion kit from Kate at The Last Homely House. This is an English paper piecing (epp) project, my first. I’m using it as a gauge to see if I enjoy doing epp. Kate made a beautiful quilt for her granddaughter that inspired me to try out this kit. I hope I like.
I know it’s been a while. Life got complicated. I tried to write a post several times, but it didn’t feel right. I’m feeling better now and wanted to let you know I’m okay. I am working on learning how to deal with complications better.
Besides life’s complications, the weather has been wet, and last night’s storm was a whopper. It’s interfering with going hiking. It is genuinely mud hiking season. Remember last year’s mud hike.
A little muddy, Poamoho April 2022
But with rain comes beautiful blooms in Cora’s garden.
Top row, left to right: my pakalana is coming back; now there are clusters of flowers amongst the vines; the air plant has a reddish glow with orange-red blooms; the pakalana has a seed pod; pink and white bougainvillea from a plant that I trimmed back hard this winter.
Cora’s pikake is in bloom. Pikake, also known as jasmine, is a drought-resistant plant that grows better in hotter weather. Waipahu is a perfect place for it. This leggy plant shares a pot with gifted papaya from the birds.
Mom trimmed it about a month and a half ago, and it recently started blooming. She’s so proud that she told me to share it with you. This plant’s variety is the double-flowered rose pikake.
The bougainvillea are also blooming. I’ve trying to be more attentive to the ones in the front yard recently. They need trimming and weeding, and have been fighting a good fight this hot summer during water restriction. These are shots from a couple that I’ve been taking care of.
Princess Hot Flash 