In bloom Many of the troubles in the plant world -- and who knows how many in the world at-large -- can of course be laid at the feet of the feral pig.
Flower show emphasizes
By Scott Vogel
native species
Star-BulletinWhat, you didn't know that? Well, OK, humans are partly to blame for Hawaii's rapidly vanishing native plants, as Mary Ann Bell of the Garden Club of Honolulu helpfully informed us. But feral pigs are right up there.
"The reason that these endangered species have almost been lost is mankind," she said during a walk through the Honolulu Academy of Arts, site of the Garden Club flower show, which begins today. "We have destroyed their habitat. We have, or the feral pigs have, or the slugs have, or the fires have."
Fortunately, there won't be any feral pigs attending the flower show, which this year has the theme "Hawaii Calls," an homage to both the legendary radio program and the rhythms of a supposedly simpler past. As for feral garden enthusiasts, however, that's another matter. Thirty-five judges from the Garden Club of America will be in town to give prizes for 16 categories of plants and flower arrangements, each category highlighting some aspect of the "Hawaii Calls" experience. For example, miniature arrangements less than 5 inches square will participate in the "Tiny Bubbles" category, while a collection of scented plants will compete in the "Sweet Leilani" division. There are prizes for the best floral arrangement paired with a piece of Hawaiian sheet music and for the best cut material arranged in coconut containers (that's the "Coconut Willie" category).But it's not all fun and games, as Bell and Bonnie Andrew, co-chairs of the show's endangered plant exhibit, are quick to point out. Some of the rarest and most beautiful creatures in the plant world face extinction unless Hawaii's gardening enthusiasts grab their hoes and passionately embrace biodiversity. Armed with a list of 20 Hawaiian plants in desperate need of cultivation and new laws making it easier for the average citizen to grow endangered plants, Bell and Andrew are on an evangelical mission of sorts, and their excitement is palpable.
"Now with the new revised state laws of three years ago it became legal for you and I to grow endangered species in our gardens," Bell exclaimed. "Prior to that we would have been breaking the law. It's stupid, but that was the way --""-- so the plants became even more endangered than they were before," Andrew interjected.
"People would go into the wild and take cuttings, and (government officials) thought they were protecting the groups that were growing in the wild," Bell continued. "But basically they weren't, because the pigs ..." -- those pigs again -- "and slugs and snails and everything else that was out there was threatening them. It's much better that we grow them in our own gardens, if that is where we have to protect and grow them."
Among the plants in need of your immediate attention -- and by the way, they cost no more to buy or keep up than other flora -- are the beautifully golden Hibiscus brackenridgei, also known by its Hawaiian name, Ma'o hau hele. Another winner is Sesbania tomentosa, a bushy plant with a lovely pea-like blossom that once flourished on the North Shore around Kaena Point. The attractive Alula (or Brighamia rockii) looks like a cabbage with tiny white blossoms sprouting from its center, while the Nanu (Gardenia brighamii) has pretty white flowers of its own and a most unique scent. And I'd be remiss if I didn't throw in a plug for my own favorite, the Hibiscus immaculatis, with its cream-colored petals surrounding a burgundy stamen. Somebody get out there and start growing these!
Adjacent to the endangered plants exhibit, the Garden Club will also sponsor six workshops on the growing of native plants, each one helmed by local experts. Despite a more relaxed legal atmosphere surrounding this endeavor, you still must purchase plants from a licensed botanical garden or nursery, and the workshops will provide information on growers who sell to the public and other details to help you get started.For a long time, it seems, in the war between natives and foreigners, the natives didn't have a chance. "We all like the beautiful plants that grow in Southeast Asia and South America and whatever," said Bell as we strolled the Academy grounds, her mood growing more tart with each non-native plant she spotted. "But as we bring those in, they threaten our native plants because they are hearty and they thrive here. If you look around at the vegetation here (at the Academy), it's all mostly introduced. There's nothing here in the garden that's a native plant. I wish I could get rid of that asparagus fern," she sniffed at an unsuspecting, deliriously healthy little bush nearby. "That could take over the world if it wanted to."
And so you see, they may be on their last legs, but Hawaii's endangered plants possess secret weapons by the names of Mary Ann Bell and Bonnie Andrew. If anyone can reverse the thousand-year trend toward immigration of all sorts, it's these women.
"This goes back to the beginning with the first Polynesians," said Bell. "They not only brought in some plants, but also the pigs."
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and tomorrow; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday 'Hawaii Calls' Flower Show
Place: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St.
Cost: Free for Hawaii residents with identification; $7 for nonresidents; $4 for nonresident seniors, students and military; free for children under 12
Call: 532-8700
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