Fun filled day in Volcano

Until yesterday, Gail was a friend of a friend whom I enjoyed meeting through Facebook and we became FB friends.  We are now face to face friends...

Gail and her husband Robert live in a gorgeous piece of property near Hawai'i National Volcanoes Park where they have an open pavillion in the forest used for weddings and parties.  They also have an adorable vacation rental 'tree house' -

Gail invited the two of us to join her for a day of gathering wild berries and flowers in her neighborhood.  I jumped at the chance.  Devany met me at the Puainako parking lot in front of KTA supermarket and then we drove together to Volcano.

Gail took us to several 'secret places' to collect blackberries.  We also found some berries that Gail called ohelo berries, but these grew on a taller bush and the leaves were not like the ohelos I was familiar with.  They are quite tart.  Other berries I found in a real 'Brer' Rabbitt thicket of brambles was what Devany and Gail say are Himalayan raspberries.  Needless to say they are invasive and quite ruthless, as I can attest by my pricked and bleeding right hand after I got out of there....I later noticed neither of them went in with me!

The flowers!....what can I say about the flowers....actually, not much more than they were spectacular. 

Wild Kahili ginger......

The Kahili are very invasive and are being pulled in many areas, but they are so beautiful and smell delicious. 

...............nasturtiums growing wild next to ginger among tall grasses

.........................and a spectacular stand of hydrangeas that were huge bushes all intertwined with tall grasses. 

 The color range was from cobalt to sky blue to very light blue and the faded flower heads were striking in shades of old fashioned dusty rose and rust orangey-rose.

Terrestial wild orchids growing at Gail's

 
Afterwards we drove over to the Kipuka Puaulu area (aka Bird Park) on Mauna Loa Road (just off highway 11) to eat our picnic.  There was enough to feed several more people.  I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of  Devany's salad as it was not only delicious but it was very colorful.

Tomatoes from my garden....

Sweet ham, pepper baked turkey, deliciously creamy Brie and guava wood smoked chevre pyramid from the Hawai'i Island Goat Dairy

After arriving back home I made several arrangements with the flowers and placed them all over the house....

My friend Sue loved nasturtiums and her favorite colors were blue and white with an Oriental theme, so I chose this porcelain basket shaped container in her honor.

Sue's flowers and the berries picked

To prove that we did get some berries, though they weren't as prolific as we would have wanted, it was still a lot of fun to hunt and pick them.

Not sure what I'll make with them but will share the recipe when I do...

 Hydrangeas on the lanai

Hydrangeas with yellow heliconia from our yard on the back lanai -

 

Hydrangeas in the bathroom

I already had an arrangement of flowers from the Hilo farmers market I got last Saturday; lilies, tuberoses, zinnias, yellow heliconias and one tall sunflower to which I added the terrestial orchids I picked yesterday.

the Kahili ginger arrangement is on the back lanai - I put in some stems of wawae'iole or 'pipe cleaner' ferns that grow in the higher elevations of Volcano and middle elevations of Saddle Road between the two large volcanoes; Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.  The Kahili was picked with buds closed and they just started opening a little bit this morning...should be in full bloom in a couple of days.

Comments

[Sonia]

So glad to hear you used to read my columns in the HT-H...Mahalo nui!

[Makingspacethejourneyout.wordpress.com]

Beautiful flowers - so glad to have found your writings and photos, used to enjoy reading you in the HT-H. I'll be around!

[Sonia]

Aloha, Noel...I would love to propagate them, so am using a couple of the stems that Anthony thinks are viable to root....we shall see if they grow as pretty here as they do in that higher elevation....!

[Sonia]

Thank you, Portia - it was a fun day all around...I have one vase full of the hydrangeas in the kitchen too!

[noel]

aloha sonia,

looks like it was a fun day....what great discoveries, berries and flowers pretty cool....i think i would gather more of those blue hydrangeas to also propogate.

noel

[Portia Little]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day, Sonia. Those hydrangias look just like the ones I have growing in my yard here in RI (but your photos are much better!). I also pick them for indoor displays, including one in my kitchen.
Portia