Planting Ironwood Trees

Graceful Ironwood Tree at MacKenzie Park on the Big Island

Today we planted three Ironwood trees.  During the last six months, we have been slowly and sadly replacing our dead Ohia trees and still have about eight other varieties to plant.

(If you don't know about this ecological tragedy, you can read about it at this link:  Dying Ohia Trees.    Or, Possible cause:  Beetle Spreading Fungus?

This week we narrowed down the right places for our three Ironwood trees that each came from different places on our Big Island.

The first one we found uprooted down at MacKenzie Park in an area known as Opihikao.  It is one of our favorite places along the famous “Red Road” here in Puna. During Hurricane Iselle in 2014, the park was hit hard by Hurricane Iselle that swept ashore pulling trees right out of the ground.

The Park is name for ranger Albert MacKenzie who planted many of the ironwood trees that cover the 13 acre park.  The "Casuarina" trees were brought to many islands as seeds, floating on logs or pumice.   The park has a fascinating history including prison convicts, King Kamehameha's Highway, and ghost stories.  (CLICK on this for great stories! MacKenzie Park )

The park is 20 minutes from our house along "Red Road"

"Take me home with you."

We purchased the second Ironwood tree months ago as one replacement for some of our dying Ohia trees. And, just this last week we found a third one in a very unexpected place.

We were running an errand, with our Tundra truck, to pick up a load of volcanic red cinder that's being quarried right from a volcanic cinder cone a few miles from our house.  This tiny tree (with three small trunks) was pushing its way up through a pile of red cinder the size of a house and it looked like it needed a new home.

Hou ho'o maka'ana

Hou ho'o maka'ana -- New beginnings! 

Now that the woods and jungle "edges" of the property have been delineated with pick axe, pruning clippers and hedge cutters, we are getting back to designing more lava walled beds. The bed pictured here is a big extension on an existing group of plantings (that did not have lava around them.)

Those big trees to the right and behind are our lovely ohia trees that are covered with red blossoms beginning around February through May, mostly.

We have already gone through TWO truck loads of red cinder, and one of soil, so we may soon have to get more. 

For four months this year, the canopy structure (right) was in front of the house -- for the contractors as they built the ohana addition.  We have now relocated it to the side and plan to turn it into a greenhouse, except, in Hawaii it is called a "shade house."   We have ordered custom made shade fabric that will allow 1/2 light and rain to come through.  This will give us a place to grow lettuce, spinach and other greens that don't do well in our hot, direct sun -- and be a place to hang out in the evening mosquito-free.

Other "new beginnings" include some cuttings off of angel trumpet vines (peach, yellow and white) from our friend Yani over in Honaunau (Kona side).   Although we have said it before, it is true!  Take your cuttings (even in November) stick them in a pot of cinder and soil and wait a couple weeks; in a couple weeks they will have new baby roots and new leaves. (Of course, when they do, I'll send another photo.)

Back in the Yard Again

 So much of the ohana construction is complete, I have had fun returning to landscaping which has taken a back seat that last couple months as we stayed 2-3 days ahead of the contractors. Returning to the yard, it's really great to see very first bed I created, back in October 2012.  It is one bed that is visible from the ohana, on the south side of the property.

But, just to the right of the fully planted bed, was a hillside that had nothing done yet.  So the last couple days were spent weeding out, cleaning out old schrubs and dead wood, and building yet another beautiful lava wall for the front.  It's pretty rocky, so it will take just the right plantings to accentuated the natural ferns.

Today we took delivery of our second HUGE pile of red cinder.  We spread this much ALREADY over 1/2 acre, evening out the ground while digging the big chunks of lava. As we have renovated the yard, we have formed small cairns around the yard which get used for flower beds and more walls.The red cinder will be used to create additional parking for guests, and several other yard projects.

Piles of lava sit around the property justwaiting to be used.

Path of the Full Moon

 Last night was a beautiful clear full moon, so we ambled out the front door, down the steps and headed to the back of the property where we have our 10,000 gallon water tank and our little orchard.

However, on the way, Phil caught his toe on a piece of lava and nearly lost his balance and fell.  This is one of the day-to-day hazards we face here.  It is really easy to trip -- and you do NOT want to fall on lava.

So today, while Phil worked on filling holes in the wood trim in the ohana, Lunel's worked on digging out treacherous chunks of lava - and filling those holes with  red cinder so we would have a better path to not only observe the night sky in the dark, but to get to our back yard.

Farther back you can almost make out a sand chair, a couple of citrus trees and one of the banana trees.  The big tall trees are ohia, and they border our property on all four sides.

We have just finished using all of the enormous load of red cinder that was delivered to us at the beginning of the year, and this week we are taking delivery of another full truck load so we can continue with our projects -- including clearing a space for a greenhouse. (more about that later -- with pictures of course.)