Exceptional, Exceptional trees. There are so many things to discover in Hawaii and this small garden is big in delight. There are 24 officially designated “Exceptional Trees” in this space. Large, unique, spectacular and astonishing trees are here. In the large category, there are Tamarind, Boabab and Quipo trees. The Quipo is sleek and tall growing like a silver streak train to the sky. The unique, includes the blue marble tree and the cannonball tree. A cannonball tree is truly loaded with heavy, round, brown balls that grow from beautiful orange flowers.
Category: Out & About
Brief impressions of garden visits
Limahuli Garden, Kauai
The tour guides try to convince you the only way to see the beauty of Kauai is by helicopter and the Napoli Coast cannot be enjoyed but by guided activity. Yet this garden will give you a glimpse of all of this in a most enjoyable stroll. You drive nearly to the end of the road of the northwest shore of Kauai. The 1000 acre valley garden rises up from the entrance gate. Lush and green surrounds you. Mountain peaks and unique plants are well labeled and described in the accompanying booklet provided with your admission. Plants in Hawaii arrived by wind, water and wing, the garden illustrates these contributions.
Chickens in Kauai
Chickens were a constant part of my childhood. My Grandmothers, my great aunties, and my Mom all raised chickens. Those chickens supplied our eggs, and our dinner.
Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City, OK
My primary exposure to Oklahoma was in the movie theatre “where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain” So driving through the state and seeing the Myriad Botanical Gardens drastically expanded my view. Located in downtown Oklahoma City the 17 acre gardens “there is grand” just as the song from the famous musical says.
Philbrook Art Museum & Gardens, Tulsa, OK
If you should tire of your 72-room Italian villa surrounded by 23 acres of formal gardens, consider donating it to your city for an art museum. This happened! In Tulsa, OK, in 1938, oil man Waite Phillips & wife Genevieve decided to move from their Italian Renaissance villa to a home in California. Tired of their Tulsa home they donated it to the city. Accepting this “house” the city opened it as The Philbrook Art Museum surrounded by its beautiful gardens in 1939. Today it continues as a great point of pride for Tulsa.
Floral Beauty in Amarillo
I don’t know much about Texas and I will admit if I am not paying attention I find it easy to confuse Amarillo and Armadillo. Amarillo is a town with a proud history of quarter horses and cattle. The scent of cattle reminds you of their importance in the economy today. Yet the moment you step inside the fragrance garden of the Amarillo Botanical garden the scent of chocolate flower surrounds you and you realize you are in an incredible gem of a garden.
A Survivor Tree
I wanted to see the survivor tree at the memorial plaza of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building, the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. This tree was buried under the rubble of the building debris that fell April 19, 1995. This American Elm tree showed signs of life when it was uncovered by the clean up workers months after the bombing. A sign of life so significant that it inspired so many then and continues yet today. It is in the center of a plaza space to representing regrowth and healing.
Botanical Garden, Albuquerque
Even on a 100 degree day this garden is a cool place to be. Only 15 years old this 36 acre botanical garden was built in the site of a city park which had fallen into disrepair. As a result mature cottonwood and elm trees provide shade all throughout the garden. The entry courtyard is spacious and decorative. You enter the garden through beautifully ornate bronze gates.
Fluttering By
Butterflies in my garden are an occasional delight. I grow some of their favorite foods, the desert milkweed and lantana, to encourage them to stop by. Still I wonder what I could to have more of these flying jewels in my garden all year long. As part of the Arizona Centennial Celebration Lola White is coordinating a Butterflies and Garden project with the goal of making Arizona the most butterfly friendly state in the nation. Her websitehttp://www.butterflyquest.net/ describes the project and provides a wealth of information about butterflies.
AZ Gardening
Back in my own little garden I have been working steadily to prepare for the intense heat of summer. One lucky bit of gardening is sharing geraniums with my friend Josephine. She and husband Steve have a wonderful mountain retreat north of Happy Jack, AZ. This is the second year that I have loaded up a truck full of my favorite peppermint twist geraniums and moved them up to her high altitude garden. Fortunately deer aren’t particularly fond of this plant and Josephine enjoys my geraniums for several months. The plants appreciate the cooler temperatures. In October I bring them back to the low desert for another growing season. This trip, after we delivered the plants we continued on to Winslow to spend a night at the La Posada resort and gardens.