July Bloomers for Boomers

One of the first plants we purchased was a Queen Emma Lily, planting it in honor of our mid-90 year old friend Emma who lives in Ukiah, CA.  In her younger years, she made Hawaii a frequent vacation spot.  The blooms are explosions of pale pink and white blossoms.

Shortly after we moved to the Puna district of the Big Island, we also bought some orchids at the local Maku'u Market that were 10 for $10.00, most of which were not blooming, so as they do, it is always a surprise.  We didn't buy many because I've always felt orchids were to fussy for me to deal with.  At first, attempting to be a dutiful gardener, I faithfully watered and fed them, moving them around to try and find the perfect place for them, waiting for them to bloom, forgetting the words of the buyer who said, "the secret to orchids is simply patience."  (Who me?)

Rotating orchids from woods to house.

Wild "bamboo orchids" in the yard

Not having much "success" I relocated the lot of them -- over two dozen up to a woodsy area dappled with filtered light and always accessible to the rain.  And, guess what, one after another have bloomed, usually a couple each month.  And that after having ignored them solidly for about 5 months!

Then, there are the sweet, wild orchids growing on what looks like bamboo -- hence the common name of "bamboo orchids."  These volunteers grow everywhere -- this clump (one of many) in our yard is about 6' tall.