By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Sculptured lamps such as this one are among the garden-themed
gift items available at The Contemporary Museum gift shop.
Santa Claus is indeed coming to town, but as usual, he is coming just for the parades and the parties, and he hasn't bought a thing with him. What do those elves do all summer? Shop with
a green thumbAnyway, it's up to you to provide the presents, and here are some ideas for the garden minded. We figure you have already patrolled the shopping malls and the department stores, so these suggestions come from volunteer- run gift shops in public gardens and museums. The parking is easier than at the malls, the volunteers seem happier to see you than sales clerks, and the profits go to a good cause.
The Contemporary Museum Gift Shop, 2411 Makiki Heights Drive, 523-3447. Free parking. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Because the acre of gardens surrounding the museum are also a major attraction to visitors, the gift shop offers a good selection of unique garden- and flower-related items.
Lamps made from green garden hose are from $64 to $395, and are modern sculpture as well as lighting.
Hand-decorated and functional yard brooms and rakes start at $40. Vases come in a variety of sizes, including stackable ones for geometric arrangements. A flexible plastic one called Amazing Vase has a top that can be folded. At $29.95, it's great for heavy tropical flowers.
Posters of island fruit and flowers are so well reproduced that they look like prints. They're made from original drawings by Fabienne Blanc. Each is 24-by-36-inches square and costs $30 unframed.
The World Art Bazaar is a sale being held in the Fountain Courtyard and gallery, an annual event with handcrafted baskets, masks, ceramics, textile and folk art from around the world.
Attractive 5-by-3-inch boxes are covered with pale green leaves, and hold four similarly finished coasters that protect a table from marks left by wet glasses. Made in the Philippines, these are $17.
Brilliantly colored, obviously fake flowers, each about 3 inches wide, on a stem about 2 feet long, are made from palm fiber in Melanesia and are $7.95 a dozen.
Arpilleras -- small wall-hangings of harvest scenes in Chile -- are a cheerful addition to a child's room. The hangings, either about 5-by-7 inches or 10-by-14, show bright scenes of families working in their fruit and vegetable gardens, with their houses and chicken and carts. Each figure is separately stuffed and sewn onto the scene so that it is three-dimensional. These sell for $19.50 and $39.50.
One-of-a-kind bird houses made from scrap materials and recycled hardware, are $40 to $65 each, and would be a handsome addition to any garden.
Neckties are a risky choice, but for the young and adventurous, one of these over a white shirt worn with jeans or khakis would make a statement. The ties are printed with big (truly big), accurately colored hibiscus or ape leaves or ginger (just one variety on each tie), and cost $20.50. Your favorite CEO may not understand these.
Wooden tree ornaments in five authentic petroglyph patterns, are handmade on the Big Island, and are $12 each. Other good hostess gifts for the holidays include the wonderful jams, jellies and chutneys made from tropical fruit by arboretum volunteers. These run $4 to $8 a jar.
Matted prints, ready for framing, of island flowers are less than $20 each. Note paper and postcards printed with island flowers are $1 or $2 each.
Rosettes made from dried lauhala strips start at .30 cents for the smallest and make a wonderful package decoration.
The shop also has an excellent collection of books on island horticulture and flower arranging, carefully chosen to appeal to local gardeners.
"Hawaii's Beautiful Trees" with the text by Leland Miyano and wonderful photographs by Doug Peebles, is $9.95, is one of the best of the newer island garden books. Another is "Hawaiian Gardens Are to Go To" by Clayton and Michele Oshima. It, too, has great photos and descriptions of public gardens on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii. It is $19.95.
We'll have a few more ideas next week.
Gardening Calendar in Do It Electric!
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