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.

Blooming Orchids

Back in August I wrote a post about "surprise orchids" and about buying some unidentified orchids at Maku'u Market -- 10 for $10.00.  And, I mentioned the orchid grower's "secret of orchids" -- PATIENCE.  So, when the flower spikes started coming on some weeks ago, I promised photos of them.

Are these the most amazing orchids you will ever see? Surely not, but they are some of our first,  and that makes them special.  They look like tiny little hula dancers -- wearing traditional Kapa cloth, and they are only about as big as my thumb.

There are other things growing as well.  We have two hills of bromeliads, and many of the bromides have "pups" coming up along the main plant.  Several of our hibiscus, though small, have blooms, and the citrus trees have large sections of beautiful bright green leaves.

Here's a close-up of the orchid "faces" and a photo of hula dancers wearing traditional Polynesian Kapa cloth. 

"Secret to Orchids"

Some time in early spring we met an orchid vendor at the Maku'u Market where we get our fresh fruits, vegetables and plants every Sunday morning.  He was selling orchids 10 for $10.00 which seemed like a good deal -- except NONE of them were in bloom!  And, we have been waiting and waiting for them to bloom.  A few weeks ago, he asked us if we wanted to know the "secret to orchids" and of course we said yes.  He want on to explain that the "secret to orchids was patience!"  So, we returned home and promptly forgot about them as the construction for Phil's wood shop and the second story ohana was in full swing.  This week....after looking in the other direction for weeks, we discovered that THREE of them have shoots that will soon produce blossoms...and we have no idea what they will be.  They should be in bloom for the arrival of our ohana/friend, Cheryl and they will look beautiful in the newly completed unit.