Posted on: Friday, December 17, 2004
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HAWAI'I'S GARDENS
Trees keep Kapi'olani Park captivating
| • | Home & Garden Calendar |
By Heidi Bornhorst
We arborists like to say that "every day is Arbor Day — in Hawai'i Nei." Just about any day is a good day to plant and nurture trees because they can grow and flourish year-round here in the Aloha State.
And we need more trees, especially around our urbanized O'ahu.
Several events celebrated trees in 2004. There were tree giveaways and Arbor Day tree sales on various islands. Koa seeds were collected at Hakalau Preserve to grow and restore the ancient koa forests of Mauna Kea. The beloved late arborist Christine Snyder was celebrated with the completion of her vision of a "lei of trees" around 'Aina Moana, the seaward tip of Magic Island.
The mayor planted a monkeypod tree in Central O'ahu, and two of our official street trees of Honolulu, the rainbow shower, were added to the historic trees of Kapi'olani Park in honor of Nancy Bannick and Wes Kinder, who have long served with the Kapi'olani Park Preservation Society.
Advertiser library photo • July 22, 2004 Rainbow shower trees set no seeds and must be carefully grown through air-layering or grafting. Tree lovers from all over the world ask about the rainbow shower and would like to grow it, but it is hard to transport, and being a subtropical tree, it won't grow in colder climates like those in California and Florida.
The main goal of the Kapi'olani Park Preservation Society is to perpetuate Kapi'olani Park as a public area and tree-filled, green, open space for all of us. One of the main things is to keep commercial activity out of our cherished Kapi'olani Park so all of us can use and enjoy the park the way King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi'olani envisioned it.
Bannick loves trees. She is especially fond of big, old, majestic trees like the thornless kiawe of Kapi'olani Park. Kinder told me that his favorite trees in Kapi'olani are the old, irreplaceable banyans; he loves the exceptional monkeypods on Paki Avenue and said he is "real honored to have a rainbow shower planted" in his name.
Some historical background on Bannick and Kinder:
Wesley Kinder: Arrived in Hawai'i in 1950. He is an architect and master planner, and he's contributed greatly to the quality of life for the island. Wes has been devoting himself to community work, particularly for the Diamond Head area, for the past 30 years.
Nancy Bannick: She has also been in Hawai'i since 1950. Her first job in Hawai'i was editing Hawaii Family & Home, the internal magazine for a newspaper. When Sunset magazine bought those, Bannick was made the Hawai'i editor of Sunset, a position she held from 1952 to 1974.
This may be where her longtime interest in historic preservation began. She produced local guidebooks for Sunset and, after retiring, acted as Sunset's Hawai'i consultant and a freelance writer. She now does mostly volunteer work.
Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable-landscape consultant. Submit questions to islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com or Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Letters may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.
The rainbow shower is a made-in-Hawai'i hybrid and a long-blooming street and park tree.
The rainbow shower is a made-in-Hawai'i hybrid and a long- blooming street and park tree. They must be carefully propagated through air-layering or grafting.
