Homestyle
Lyon Arboretum plant sale will introduce new varieties

By Heidi Bornhorst

The Lyon Arboretum Summer Plant Sale next month will feature some new and some old plants for plant lovers. This garden is run by the eternally cash-strapped University of Hawai'i and needs our help and support. Proceeds from the sale benefit the garden's educational and outreach, and other programs that the university cannot afford to endow.

•	Lyon Arboretum Summer Plant Sale 9 a.m.-2 p.m. July 14 Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall Free admission; plants for sale.

• Griffinia rochae is a small member of the lily family from Brazil. It has lavender and white flowers 1 1/2 inches wide and strap-like leaves. Plants are about 8 inches tall when blooming.Griffinias prefer good light but not hot sun and they require good drainage.Plants are propagated by division.The flowers are very pretty and unusual.To me they look something like a purple and white mountain naupaka blossom, growing on a diminutive lily plant that looks like an agapanthus.Try a mass of these for an interesting groundcover planting.

• The second new item from the arboretum will be a species from Costa Rica, pilea "Moon Valley," in the family Urticaceae, which would be a colorful addition to any shady garden or a brightly lit window indoors. The leaves of this plant are patterned in green and purplish black or brown but its most interesting feature is its highly textured leaves. The flowers are small and pale pink on male plants and green on female plants.This pilea is easily propagated by cuttings. Look in your old, prized copy of the book "Exotica" for a glimpse of this shade loving, colorful plant.

Thousands of other plants will be for sale.Native Hawaiian plants, heliconias, gingers, fruit trees, water plants, herbs, ferns, ti, orchids, anthuriums, cacti and succulents, bonsai, bromeliads including tillandsias, daylilies, palms and plants for landscaping and lanais.

You can get advice from plant experts.Bring a sample of your sickly or unidentified plant, or a picture to help the experts diagnose and answer your questions.

Handicrafts from Hui Hana Hawai'i (made up of talented volunteers at the arboretum), will include fresh lei creations, jams and jellies, books and more.I always like to have some of these jams and jellies on hand for a quick and ready hostess or housewarming gift or for that unexpected Christmas gift exchange.

Keiki activities run throughout the length of the plant sale, and are designed to encourage a child's interest in plants with hands-on activities (pot-painting, planting baggie gardens, simple plant science activities and so on).All the children's activities are free, and their participation is welcome while their parents are busy selecting and purchasing plants (but, please, no dropping off the kids while you take in the movies!). The keiki table will be in the mauka end of the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

E-mail Heidi Bornhorst at islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com or write to her care of The Advertiser Homestyle section, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.