Landscaping - Understated Luxury

A BEAUTIFUL RESORT
When we think Hawaii many think resorts. And they are beautiful. One of the qualities of a great landscape is it's informal, it's relaxing. The landscaping here is understated luxury at its best.
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CHRISTMAS TREES AND COFFEE TREES
THE CHRISTMAS TREES AND COFFEE TREES CATCH HIS EYE. Warren explains: The coffee is a passion, because gardening must be fun. But the Christmas trees they grow to support the botanical garden. The garden doesn't make enough to keep itself going so they grow Christmas trees to provide extra income to make this a viable situation. Many don't know that Christmas trees grow in Hawaii. And they grow fast. They're from California, it's a Monterrey Pine, and can grow to 6 to 8 feet in 4 years.
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LAWN AREA
FROM THE OVERVIEW RICHARD NOTICES THE LAWN AREA, so they take a closer look. They have functions here that range in size from 25 to 150 people. They have weddings here, his son was baptized here, it's a place where people can gather in the garden and enjoy it. It's a wonderful area, very open but at the same time, it feels intimate. People feel comfortable here. To Richard it feels like a center part of the garden, from here they can relate to the rest of the garden. Gardeners are always thinking about creating functional, useful attractive spaces and this is the right way to do that. It's a simple, open, uncluttered area with some partial enclosures and a borrowed view. It is a beautiful, functional space. This is a concept that would work in many of our yards.
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DESIGN IDEAS FOR A GARDEN
He was attracted to this piece of property when he saw the ROCK FORMATION, A BIG ROCK CROPPING ABOVE THE GROTTO WHICH HAS 17 LAYERS OF GEOLOGICAL ACTIVITY AND A WATERFALL. That was the kind of thing he could work with, in order to make a botanical garden. The rock formation and waterfall became the focus of the entire garden. To make the garden more interesting he's added other points of interest, things like a coy pond and a covered bridge. This garden or any garden must be interesting to draw people in.
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PROTEAS
THE FIRST ARE THE PROTEAS, the family of plants named after the Greek god, Proteus. He could change his face at will. There are a huge variety of plants in this family and they're all different, a very unique plant. It came from Australia and South Africa and was brought to Maui by the University of Hawaii Extension service because they realized that the Macadamia nut grows here and it is a Protea. Thus it was decided that Protea could become an industry for Maui and is now rather unique to Maui. Warren shows several of the more interesting Proteas in this garden. The 1st is Leucospermum Catherinae 'Catherine-Wheel Pincushion.
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ORCHIDS
THE GUYS NEXT LOOK AT SOME ORCHIDS. Many of the plants in this garden will only grow in this area, the Orchids will grow anywhere. A prime example is Cymbidium 'Cymbidium Orchid.' It will grow in temperatures as low as 38-40 degrees and it requires cool temperatures to set the flower. They make great patio specimens, one can keep them in the house if it gets really cold outside, then in the spring put them outside. Cool is OK but no frost. They come in a variety of colors. They're hardy, think of the many dances where girls were wearing them on their wrist, as a corsage, and they last forever. They make really good houseplants, they're easy to care for, transplant them every 3 or 4 years to get rid of the old black bolts. Be careful not to give them heavy soil, they like nice, light soil, Make sure they're well drained. They need a little water and fertilization but don't like to be wet or soggy. And they're gorgeous.
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REPOTTING BROMELIADS
Warren goes through the process in detail. HE CUTS THE MOTHER PLANT FROM THE PUPS. It is no longer a viable plant, thus discarded. Divide the 3 pups and put them into 3 containers. Each pup will have its own roots, but gets some roots from the parent plant. Shake off some of the old soil because he will put the plants in new soil, a fresh mix. Bury the mother's roots down low enough so that the pup's roots are actually at the surface in the pot. It's relatively simple and when complete we have 3 plants from one. The soil is already fairly damp so Warren just puts a little water in the crown and that should make the plant happy. The 3 plants hadn't looked crowded before but now with just 1 to a pot they all look full and look good. And will be a lot healthier.
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LINKS:

Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
Maui Visitors Bureau
Kula Botanical Garden
Garden Smart Plant List