A Scenic Sunday in Along the Coast in East Hawaii

A person should go out on the water on a fine day to a small distance from a beautiful coast, if he would see Nature really smile. Never does she look so delightful, as when the sun is brightly reflected by the water, while the waves are gently rippling, and the prospect receives life and animation from the glancing transit of an occasional row-boat, and the quieter motion of a few small vessels. But the land must be well in sight; not only for its own sake, but because the immensity and awfulness of a mere sea-view would ill accord with the other parts of the glittering and joyous scene. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

For more scenic sundays please visit http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Skywatch Friday - and Happy Aloha Friday

Its still a cool morning and the morning trade winds are rustling through the palm trees...

When I look up at the sky the clouds are turning from dark and foreboding to yellow and orange hued tones leading to a bright blue sky.

I never know if its going to be a rainy day or a sunny day or microclimates of weather patterns, but its no worry the sun is coming out and will bring warm rays of light even with a surprise shower.

I just glad to be present for now and enjoy this beauty.

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”

John Muir quotes


To see more amazing skies on skywatch friday go to http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Lets Visit A Tropical Rhododendron Grower Today

The Big Island of Hawaii has an amazing plethora of growers that export food commodities to the world, and also amazing floral businesses that are a huge part of our agro-economy. I’m going to take you on a visit to one of our local growers of specialty Vireyas or Tropical Rhododendrons.

We are visiting the White Cloud nursery in the Ka’eohe Homesteads on the east side of Hawaii Island. This area really feels and looks like we are in the cloud forests where vireyas tend to flourish in higher altitude conditions.

Pete and Jane Adams are the owners of the nursery and they have been growing and selling  vireyas at White Cloud exclusively.   This nursery specializes in subtropical vireyas and comprises of five acres with over 300 species of hybrid Vireya and Madenni Rhododendrons. There is also a wonderful show garden and green house that is open to the public on Saturdays from 9 to 2 pm.





Shall we start our tour with Pete and Jane, they promised to spare us a few minutes from their busy schedule to show us some amazing plants today!  The show gardens are very well laid out and bordered with logs from paper bark tree’s that were cut down to open up the growing display areas. The walkways are cinder rock so that makes it very easy to walk around the display areas. I didn’t ask about wheel chair accessibility but it looks doable if your willing to push someone through the cindered pathways.







Here’s one of the first beauties that caught my eye while we were walking. Its called Will Silent, I should have asked why this was called that name, but I was just to stunned by the color and wanted to capture the amazing flower clusters and the burst of sunlight.







Let me introduce you to Christo Rey which has vivid orange and a yellow throat base, its dazzling and the flowers look just soo perfect.







If you like pink and frilly then you will love Queensland which has dark maroon leaves, showy flowers and is fragrant with spicy scents.







This showy bi-colored Vireya is called Haloed Gold and it is a frequent bloomer and is very sun tolerant. A nice upright shrub with glossy foliage.







I love peach colored flowers like this one called lulu, its got a zany name that makes me smile.







Now this flower is all yellow and its name is a mouthful, its called Laetum X Arigeranum. The leaves were so green and glossy, it made the yellow really pop!





I think I caught the light really well on this flower called Aravir, its just stunning and the scent is just amazing, light floral and jasmine scent.  I would love to get a few of these please.





For those that want a smaller gem, this one is still dramatic. Its called R. Commonae and the small bells are almost pure red, what a drama queen!





This one is my favorite on the tour, its called Candy Halo and it really has it all. Showy pink framing a white star and deep yellow throat and a large flower. ..humm you had me at hello!





I think I could go on and on through their beautiful display garden, but it was getting really hot outside so we decided to check out the green house for some well deserved shade. This is the interior shot of the green house. It is over 3000 square feet and used primarily for propagating their export certified plants.



We toured the inside briefly and I saw alot of the propagated plants, minatures and new varieties that are currently being tested. I also saw a few beauties that were actually more interesting for their foliage like this one called R. Polyanthemum, it has rusty and furry leaves and would add alot of texture and color to an all green garden.





Well I’m feeling a little sun stroke and I thank Jane and Pete for spending some time with us. If you would like to check out their website for more information about growing these amazing plants and adding some to your collection, here’s their website below. http://www.whitecloudnursery.com/

If your ever on the Big Island of Hawaii, please stop and visit the White Cloud nursery outside of Pahoa Village, Pete and Jane are such wonderful garden friends, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting them.  Also, If you enjoyed our tour, please feel free to make a comment below, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks for joining me on our vireya tour and I’ll look forward to visiting another favorite plant  grower from Hawaii soon.

Aloha,



Noel

A New Dawn Begins in Hawaii.

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise. ~George Washington Carver


 

 
 
 
 
I climbed out over the lava rocks to view a new dawn approaching.
 

 
 
 
 
I see it in the once dark skies that a new day is beginning and I wonder if the new day will bring promises of sunny or grey clouds or maybe and ongoing changing pattern of both.
 
 

 
 
Hurry, hurry, the sun is coming finally....there it is. 
 
                                         I stand there by myself and watch in awe.
 
 
 
 

 

I don't want anybody to stand between the individual and existence. No prayer, no priest -- you alone are enough to face the sunrise
                                          -  Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Sky Watch Friday

 These are some photos taken before the sun sets on our side of the Big Island in Hawaii.

 Happy aloha Friday!

Wordless Wednesdays, Tropical Treasures

Bits of my Weekend

It was a very low key weekend for myself in East Hawaii, I actually saw my first mother and calf Humpback whale while I was watching the sunset coming down on Kehena Beach.


Too many errands and chores to catch up on, especially since I had and entire vacant house to finish cleaning up for some tenants that are finally moving into my rental unit.

Before I get started with the chores I decided to put out the carrot and stick first so I can get motivated.


I did a little reading in bed.

A little blogging and internet browsing...well alot actually!

Went to Arthur's studio to brush up on my figure drawing skills or lack of considering how long its been since I last went to a drawing session.

I went to the farmers market to get some provisions and talk to my favorite plant vendors

Gathered fresh avocados and lemons from the tree and prepared a dish for a Sunday night gathering.

Okay, that was enough of the fun stuff, now its time to do the weed pulling, sweeping, cleaning the bathroom and yes toilets ( can't stand this part) and moving furniture and storing back in my already crowded garage...no body loves this part. I think I should have started with the bad stuff first before so I could then reward myself and needless to say I still have alot of the yucky stuff to finish this week :(

Wordless Wednesdays - A Morning Beach Walk in Alameda, my Hometown