Homestyle
The beautiful blossoms of summer

By Heidi Bornhorst

People often ask me when is the best time to visit and see the most flowers in bloom.

This is hard to answer because we always have something in bloom, even in winter. I must say though, that for flowering trees, which do well along our streets, in our parks and our back yards, June and July are great blooming months.

As a friend told me recently, it's hard to concentrate on driving with all the blooming beauty out there.

Lots of people ask me about the pretty purple flowering trees along the Pali highway, in Manoa, in Kane'ohe, out along the freeway in Mililani, and in Waipahu.

These trees with masses of purple and pink flowers are giant crepe myrtle trees.

Other good places to see them are in the parking lots at Foster and Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens.

There are also dwarf crepe myrtles in shades ranging from pale pink to deep lavender. These are spectacular as well this year (I guess there is some good in hot, dry, drought-ridden Kona weather that makes us humans so miserable, and in need of deep shade and cooling drinks).

The rainbow shower, our official street tree of Honolulu and a unique Hawai'i-made hybrid is awesome in early summer. Check them out all over town: along the freeways, especially by School Street; along Vineyard, especially near Nu'uanu stream; in Kapi'olani park; along King Street.

Visit the original rainbow shower of the variety "Wilhelmina Tenney" growing on the Daibutsu terrace of Foster Garden.

This is one of 43 officially designated "Exceptional Trees" growing in Foster Garden. According to Paul Weissich, director emeritus of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens, this tree was a gift to the gardens from Wilhelmina Tenney herself. Tenney, who served as a sort of assistant director for the gardens, let Harold Lyon (the director preceding Weissich) air-layer a tree from the one in her garden.

It was a great gift and legacy as the original tree and garden are now gone, buried under the freeway near Pensacola Street.

Rainbow showers — a natural hybrid between the golden shower from India, and the pink and white shower from Java and Indonesia — set no seeds. They put their energy into flowering for 8-10 or more months of the year. They range in color from pale pineapple juice (the variety known as the "Queen's Hospital white") to deepest watermelon sherbet, and many corals and golds and pale peaches and apricots in between. Am I hungry writing this? Getting there ...

Some streets also have the parents of the rainbow.

Golden showers are lovely on mauka Pensacola Street with their long tendrils of golden yellow flowers.

Pink and white showers are gracing some of the older streets in Kaimuki, like on Kilauea Avenue.

Royal Poincianas are also in great bloom. Check them out going down Pensacola Street, along Alohea Avenue in mauka Kapahulu and on Wilder avenue in Makiki.

They look great near Kapi'olani Community college. And shame on the church on Victoria avenue that whacked their trees in half. Why? Mature poincianas should never have large branches cut off as they do not close off or compartmentalize well. People should especially not cut them when they are in bloom. Pull the weeds and rake leaves instead.

There are large orange as well as the yellow form of poinciana at Ho'omaluhia.

They are in the African section, as they are native to Madagascar. It is ironic, that this is such a prevalent tree in our landscape; it is endangered in Madagascar. The golden form was popularized by the late great horticulturist Horace Clay.

His wife, Yolanda, gifted his favorite tree to the Art Academy and it grows in front of the Linekona Center, in full golden bloom.

Another magnificent golden poinciana is in the Queen Kapi'olani flower garden, which is maintained by the city's division of Urban Forestry under Stanley Oka.

We also do well with plumerias. There are many hybrids of this Mexican native, and there is a grove of them at Koko Crater Botanical Gardens. My new neighbors and I took a hike there one cool afternoon and she says she will never look at a plumeria tree the same again.

They are one of our many flowering classics. They also make the ultimate island lei, for any occasion.

Heidi Bornhorst is director of Honolulu's five botanical gardens.