Garden News

Our Mini-Orchard

Walking down the steps of our back porch

(click on any photo to get an enlarged view)

After working for two years to establish areas for food-related gardening, we are experiencing a degree of success.  Of course, there is a significant learning curve when it comes to vegetables especially, given the fact that we live in a rain forest.  What does that mean?  Living in the Puna District on the Big Island, we average 120-140 inches a year -- and just in the last 24 hours, we were blessed with 4.5 INCHES!!!  That can be really hard on delicate vegies like lettuces.  These more delicate things are grown in our shade house that reduces the intense sunlight and often hard rains.  Here we grow a variety of lettuce, two kinds of beans, bok choy and eggplant!

Shade house for some vegies

Walking out the back door off the screened lanai, we are blessed with a small orchard with limes, tangelos, valcencia oranges, papaya, tangerines and pineapples (we now have 12, out of 24 plants nearing harvest!)

Further out near the edges we have (but not pictured) five banana trees (waiting for another year to fruit) 5 avocado trees (not quite ready to produce yet) 2 fig trees (with small harvest this year.)

Crown flower - for Monarch Butterflies

 In another section we have raised beds offering tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, two kinds of potatoes.

We are also excited to see our crown flower in bloom because just this week we have been seeing Monarch butterflies who use the crown flowers for their prime living quarters -- loving the flowers, the mature butterflies lay eggs on the plant.  The hatching caterpillars devour much of the leaves and spin their temporary capsule before emerging as a beautiful Monarch.

Beauty surrounds us!