Sonia Tastes Hawaii: Christmas Blooms at the Farmer's Market

Last Saturday we visited the Hilo Farmers Market just to take photos of the colorful array of fruits, veggies and flowers. The whole market was teeming in a riot of colors and looked as if it had dressed up just for the Holiday Season.

I shared some of the photos of fruits and veggies taken that day in an article at Gather.com TROPICAL TASTE - Hilo Farmers Market at Christmas Time

I wish all of you a very "Mele Kalikimaka" and thank you for dropping by to read and look at my posts. Here is my Christmas Gift to all of you....May it provide you with joy and pleasure!

Midori - Lime Green and Pink Anthuriums

Anthuriums are lovely to use anytime of year, but they seem so much more alive and colorful to use during the holidays!

Awapuhi is the name for ginger in Hawaiian. The Pine Cone or Shampoo Ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) or Awapuhi Kuahiwi reflect the colors of the season.

As I walked through the market, each bunch of flowers called to me...I took dozens of photos and wish I could share them all!

The Heliconiacae family consists of a huge genus of heliconias in many colors and shapes.

Some blooms stand straight up and some dangle- some look like they are made of wax and others look slighly fuzzy. They are all beautiful!

With names like "Lobster-claw", "Sexy Pink", "Wild Plantain", "Parakeet" , the whole family of heliconias is a very colorful one.

Bright Christmas Red Anthuriums. In the past we have decorated our Christmas trees with these blooms.

Also called Classic South American Red Anthuriums, these are the most familiarly known by the most people.

The Pink & Green Tropic Ice is a type of Obake Anthurium which are the largest blooms in this family.

As with the Heliconia genus, the Anthurium ia also part of a huge family of flowers. Many different colors, combination of colors and sizes. A big advantage is that they last so long in arrangements.

Red Gingers - none of the gingers shown in these photos are the edible ginger.

Of the hundreds of ginger plants in existence, only the Zingiber officinale and the turmeric or Curcum longa, cardamon and galanga are edible.

There are many varieties of gingers growing in Hawaii. The Red Ginger Alpinia purpurata seems to be the most prolific. Cone or flower heads can run from almost shell white, through several shades of pink to deep red.

The flower most associated with the Christmas Holidays is the Poinsettia.

Poinsettias are native to the Americas, originally from the Pacific Coast of Central Mexico and Guatemala.

Named after the first U.S. envoy to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, who first introduced it to the United States in 1825. The Poinsettia is also called Flor de Noche Buena (Noche Buena is what people of Hispanic descent call Christmas Eve, so the translation would be Bloom or Flower of Good Night or Christmas Eve)

May your Christmas Holidays be filled with many, many blooms!