On the garden 'zine
By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Gregory Koop printed 2,000 copies of the premiere issue of Hawaii Horticulture
Finally, there's a publication to provide Hawaii plant lovers with usable horticultural information
THE glossy magazines on gardening are in racks at all of the local bookstores. There's Horticulture, the Art of American Gardening that has advice on keeping deer out of your garden and which crabapple cultivars to choose. There is the beautiful new Garden Design with glorious photographs of tulips and crepe myrtle. And what does any of this mean to the Honolulu gardener? To the extent that it's like reading Architectural Digest without ever expecting to duplicate some software billionaire's pad on your suburban lot, it is academically interesting. But don't look for much practical advice. The garden magazines aren't writing for Honolulu readers.
Gregory Koob, a professional newsletter writer as well as a Ph.D. in horticulture, has decided that island gardeners need a publication of their own. So this month he published the first issue of Hawaii Horticulture, a newsletter for plant lovers in Hawaii. He printed 2,000 copies and they are being distributed free at Star Garden Supply, Eagle Hardware, K-Mart Garden Supply, Koolau Farmers, The Garden House and the gift shops at Foster Garden and Lyon Arboretum.
The 20-page newsletter is illustrated with black-and-white photographs on every page and is full of practical advice that applies to our gardens. Nothing at all on gophers or maple trees. Instead, Koob has articles on the hibiscus leaf mite and how to get rid of it, the cultivation of broccoli and cauliflower at different altitudes here and where to plant a kulu'i tree. There is a question and answer column, a list of community garden plots and of all of the university's cooperative extension offices.
"I've been thinking about this for years," Koob said. Formerly on the staff of Lyon Arboretum where he worked on tissue cultures of rare and endangered plants, he has edited newsletters for the arboretum and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. "I've lived here for 12 years, working in horticulture and being an active gardener.
"For the past couple of years, I have found how hard it is to get information to the average gardener on the things that he wants to know. When I volunteered at arboretum plant sales, there were lots of questions but no easy source for answers. The information is out there, but it's hard for the home gardener to find," Koob said.
"I've read garden magazines, and they don't work. There are no nematodes in Minnesota. Even Sunset is more geared to Southern California than Hawaii, and we're different."
So Koob talked to friends, studied desktop publishing, and put out his first issue. "I wrote some of it, I had some guest writers and I used university resources. I do the layout and design and friends help with the proofreading. I'm looking for experts in orchid growing and water gardening who write for the average grower. The newsletter is aimed at readers who go to garden shops and plant sales, but aren't horticulture experts."
The February issue will have a calendar of plant-related events around town including sales, lectures and exhibits, and this will be a regular feature. The first improvement he will make, once he can afford it, is to use color photographs. "I admit, flowers in black and white don't have the impact," he said.
Gardening, Koob added, is the most popular hobby in the United States. It is recognized that while it is mainly taken up by those who love plants and their cultivation, there is also an element of the practical in this. If you have a yard, somebody has to take care of it, and yard maintenance crews are a luxury. So there are hobbyists out there for whom gardening is a necessity and they do not rank mowing the lawn with nine holes of golf or a morning of fishing.
"Gardening is recession proof - if you can't afford to travel or pay country club dues, the garden is still there. In fact, you can grow vegetables and make it actually a money saver."
Asked about the most common mistake that most weekend gardeners make, Koob said that it is too much care rather than too little. "Too much water, too much fertilizer, too much trimming. And the other thing is not knowing enough about the plants in your garden ... you have to know what they need."
He said that he'd also like to see more varied plant material used in Hawaii gardens. There is life beyond bougainvillea. And this brings up his interest in native plants. "My soap box speech is that if Hawaiian gardens used more native plants, it would not only keep them and the Hawaiian culture they represent alive, but they would become an attrction to visitors. Hawaii would look different from Florida or Pasadena."
Koob is one of many horticulturists working on the change in Hawaii's laws that will permit the public legally to possess endangered plant species if they come from a cultivated source and are not gathered from the wild. This will make those plants available in garden shops.
The point, he said, is that many of them are very simple to grow, including the endangered yellow hibiscus that is the state flower. "The legislature changed the law last year and the governor let it go by without signing it. The attorney general approved the changes, and Department of Land and Natural Resources is ready to write the new rules and then it will have to be signed by the governor."
Koob is now at work on the February issue, which will be available in about three weeks. There will be articles on naio, or false sandalwood, and how to grow lettuce at home. "This is the best time of the year, the coolest part of the year, to grow lettuce. It doesn't do well in warm weather." He welcomes questions, which are answered by experts, and is interested in knowing what new plants are available at garden shops.
"I'm looking for feedback. I am particularly interested in uses of tropical plants in other cultures -- how they are used in the Philippines or Japan or Samoa or in the old plantation camps in Hawaii, and recipes using tropical fruits. You don't have to be a trained writer, just send in what you know and I can do some editing.
"Gardening is a nurturing process. I think it makes you a nicer person."
Hawaii Horticulture is also available by an annual subscription fee of $20 to cover mailing costs. To reach Koob, write to P.O. Box 12191, Honolulu, HI 96828, or leave a message or fax at 951-4951.
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