HOMESTYLE
Foster Garden sale to feature favorite fragrant, edible plants
By Heidi Bornhorst
Hawai'i is famous for its fragrant flowers and 'ono fruits and vegetables. Gardeners and plant lovers are so fortunate to have such fragrances and flavors in their lives. Whenever we have one of the classic Foster Garden plant sales, people ask for pua keni keni, kwai fah, a small mango for my mini garden, and so on. We know people love to be in the shady garden under the historic trees, looking over their hybrid orchid collection or whatever, and common sense tells us that we should have the plants that people want to grow. Thus evolved the theme of this year's plant sale May 11, "Favorite Fragrances and Edibles."
• "Favorite Fragrances and Edibles" • 9 a.m.-3 p.m. May 11, Foster Botanical Garden • 537-1708
Arborist Bobby Midkiff is the chairman of the plant sale, which he says helps support the garden's mission of education, preservation of botanic gardens for the people and enhancement of rare species from Hawai'i and around the world. At our sales, we try to introduce people to a variety of wonderful plants, from rare Hawaiian natives to special plants from around the world.
Foster Botanical Garden Plant Sale
Among the offerings will be kwai fah — that delightfully and mysteriously fragrant Chinese plant, pikake, night blooming jasmine, Brunfelsia and pua keni keni. These are great fragrances for the day or evening garden, from Glen Nii of C. Nii nursery.
As well, famed nurseryman Masuo Moriwaki will have some of the wonderful Tagami and Hart hybrid ti leaves. David Orr, director of Waimea Arboretum, will have native Hawaiian plants including the fragrant Moloka'i white hibiscus, Moloka'i koki'o ke'o ke'o. Waimea volunteer and international hibiscus expert Jill Coryell will have some of the choice and hard-to-find old-fashioned hibiscus hybrids.
There will be many more native Hawaiian plants from O'ahu growers. Among them is a pure yellow variety of the usually orange St. John's hibiscus from the Na Pali coast of Kaua'i. Grower Dennis Kim calls it Keala 'ula, meaning "the dawning".
Pat Sumida of Marugame nursery will have the daisy or white gem gardenia. This small, pinwheeled flower has an extraordinary fragrance and is in full bloom in the summer.
Magnolia is an awesome fragrance, usually on a large tree that likes mauka conditions. Judy Nii has a miniature magnolia, more suitable to our small gardens.
Frankie's fruit tree nursery has some unique Japanese citrus. Tsadachi is very popular in Japan. It is 'ono for marinating fish or shrimp. Frank Sekiya says it is also used in balloon fish (fugu) soup in Japan. It is often combined with uzu, another citrus, prized in Japanese culinary arts.
Some of the mangoes they will offer are famous Thai varieties such as Okrong that is eaten alongside sticky rice. This and brahm kai mea and kuhn see can be eaten green and are sweet and crunchy. Frankie's has some good Florida mango varieties such as Carrie and Julie, a dwarf tree (for those small sized yards). They will have the Rapoza variety, too.
Also on hand at the sale will be chef Kusuma Cooray to sign her book on cooking spices, "A Burst of Flavor," and grower and lei-maker Laurie Shimizu Ide will have her new book "Hawaii's Flower Leis."
Heidi Bornhorst is director of the city's botanical gardens — Foster, Lili'uokalani, Wahiawa, Koko Crater, Ho'omaluhia. Write to her care of The Advertiser Homestyle section, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Or e-mail her at islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com.
