Aloha FOHXG Members,

Thank you for your continued support. We have some exciting updates for 2024:

RSVP for FOHXG Annual General Membership Meeting:

Please click on the link below to view our 2024 invitation to our Annual General Membership meeting on January 27, 2024 at 9:30am. Please RSVP by January 20, 2024 to let us know you will be attending.

Please take care and have a Happy Holidays!

Mahalo!

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You are invited to attend the Friends of Hālawa Xeriscape Garden Annual General Membership Meeting!

Saturday, January 27, 2024
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 am
at Halawa District Park Meeting Room
99-795 Iwaiwa Street, Aiea, HI 96701

Free Parking in the parking lot or streetside

We will be holding this meeting in person at nearby Halawa District Park while the garden is temporarily closed during a construction project.

Agenda

• 2023 Year-In-Review
• Committee Reports
• Nominations & Elections of Board of Directors

Please let us know if you plan to attend and if you have questions, please call Amy Tsuneyoshi at (808) 748-5936 or Sheri Mikami at (808) 748-5315 or email workshops@hbws.org.

Download the flier PDF

Garden temporarily closed during construction project January thru April 2024

Aloha FOHXG Members,

Thank you for your continued support. We have some exciting updates for 2024:

Temporary Garden Closure Dates: We apologize for any inconvenience, The Halawa Xeriscape Garden will be temporarily closed to the public and volunteers from December 2023 thru April 2024 for a construction project. We look forward to some upgrades to our Garden office building and Pavilion including new roofing, lighting, electrical, interior and exterior painting. Please contact us with any questions.

Please take care and have a Happy Holidays!

Mahalo!

Sixteen FOHXG members took a field trip to the Little Plumeria Farms on the North Shore.  Plumeria (Plumeria rubra) although often associated to the Islands especially in lei-making, is not native to Hawaii.  The farm was established in 1973 by Jim Little and specializes in rare plumerias and developing exciting new hybrids.  The group got to see many different varieties of plumerias that come in many different colors, shape, and smell.

Here, Clark Little (in yellow) gives a talk to the “Friends” on the history of Little Plumeria Farms and their work in developing new cultivars.  Next to Clark is his son, Dane, who represents the third generation of Little Plumeria Farms.

 

Although plumerias can be propagated through seeds, we were taught how to grow via cuttings.  It’s been about a month after planting this cutting.  Waiting for new leaves to appear.

 

 

Happy New Year 2023
Reminder General Membership Meeting &
February Garden Opening

Aloha FOHXG Members,

We apologize for the inconvenience, The Friends of Halawa Xeriscape Garden and The Board of Water Supply will not proceed with plans this year for the Annual August Unthirsty Plant Sale at Halawa Xeriscape Garden. The Halawa Xeriscape Garden remains temporarily closed to the public at this time and we will update you when we plan to reopen.  For any questions please email us at plantsale@hbws.org. Please take care and stay safe.

When considering plants for your home garden… go native! Native Hawaiian plants are beautiful, beneficial to our ecosystem, tend to be “unthirsty”, and many are becoming extinct.
Where can you get native Hawaiian plants? As many of them are endangered, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT collect them in the wild. You can get them from friends, neighbors, private hobbyists, or your local nursery or garden shop.
There are two categories of “native” plants: Endemic means that these plants came on their own via the ocean currents or carried by the wind. Then over thousands or millions of years they evolved into a plant that is totally unique to Hawaii. Indigenous means, again that they came on their own, but remained unchanged and can be found in other parts of the world.
Plants that are NOT native are those that were brought here by humans. When the early Polynesians came to Hawaii they brought with them plants that they needed to survive. To name a few, “ulu” (breadfruit), “kalo” (taro), and “kukui” (candlenut). Many of these plants have been incorporated into the Hawaii ecosystem. Unfortunately many compete with the native plants and are now considered “invasive”. According to the Hawaii State Alien Species Coordinator (DLNR), the “awapuhi” (white and yellow ginger, commonly used in leis) is on the list of Hawaii’s Most Invasive Horticultural Plants. We at Halawa Xeriscape Garden kindly ask that you do not grow these plants.
At Halawa Xeriscape Garden we highly encourage growing native Hawaiian plants as they are well adapted to growing in our climate and tend not to need a lot of watering. Your garden will show your love of Hawaii if it has the “ma’o hau hele”. A beautiful yellow hibiscus which in 1988 was designated as Hawaii’s state flower. If you want something easy to grow try the “pohinahina”. A sprawling ground cover which is drought, wind, salt, and heat tolerant. It has silvery green leaves which has a pleasant sage-like aroma and clusters of lavender flowers. The early Hawaiians ate the leaves of the “pohinahina” to cure stomach ache and insomnia. Also consider growing the “ohi’a lehua”. Although the most abundant native tree, in recent years hundreds of thousands have died due to a fungal disease referred to as Rapid Ohia Death (ROD). Normally growing in Hawaii’s rain forests, the trees are not necessarily “unthirsty”, but they help to maintain a healthy ecosystem, provides a habitat for native Hawaiian birds and effectively replenishes our aquifers. There is an organization called Ohi’a Legacy Initiative which, in their effort to establish ohi’a trees in residential areas, will from time to time giveaway ohi’a plants.

Pohinahina

If you need advice on how to grow native Hawaiian plants check out the book, “Growing Native Hawaiian Plants” by Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst.

Cactus is a succulent belonging to the Cactaceae Plant Family.  They come in many different forms but basically consist of a water-storing body and covered with areoles from which sharp spines protrude.  These spines or thorns are actually leaves that had evolved to be sharp and pointy.  With about 1750 known species, cacti comes in all different shapes and sizes.  Some resemble trees (Saguaro), some climb on long branches (Dragon Fruit), some have stems that look like ping-pong paddles (Prickly Pear), and many are shaped like barrels.  One of the most beautiful of the barrel cacti are of the genus Echinopsis.  Echino meaning hedgehog or sea urchin and opsis meaning appearance.  Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America.  They are known for their spectacular flowers borne on long tubes and often bigger than the plants themselves.