New in the Garden

Ever since our visit to Hilo's Botanical Gardens a year ago, I have been waiting (sort of patiently) for the day when our yard and new beds were ready to receive Heliconias!  While not native to Hawaii, they thrive in this rain forest environment.  Some grow to be over 15' tall, sending out unbelievable blossoms. 


We bought ours at the local Maku'u Market, most in one gallon, and some in five gallon containers, so it will be a year or two before they produce blooms as seen in these photos, from plant books and on-line sites.

From top to bottom, the names are:  Pogoantha

Champneana Mayan Blood,Indica Striata, and

Indica Spectabilis

The last photo is our beautiful new banana tree -- it is called Siam Ruby Red Banana, and while it may not produce fruit, just look how amazing those leaves will go with the rest of the bunch.

Anyway, with knee surgery this week, it was important to get these new plants into the ground, since it will be a a few weeks until I am able to use my pick axe and shovel.