Succulents and More™

A few days ago I took you on a tour of the Garden of Eden Arboretum located on the Hāna Highway in northern Maui. My post showed you many of the exotic trees, shrubs and perennials growing there, but I left out one group of plants: bamboos. The bamboo garden at Garden of Eden isn’t huge but since I didn’t know ahead of time that it even existed, it was like receiving an unexpected gift when I saw the first huge clump: Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata’ aka painted bamboo; from China and Japan; height to 50 ft., hardy to 27°F Painted bamboo may be common in tropical regions, but for me it’s still a thing of rare beauty.   Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata’

I don’t typically repost sales and offers from commercial nurseries but all the plants I’ve bought from Yucca Do Nursery over the years have thrived so I don’t hesitate to recommend them. They’re having a summer sale right now, with prices reduced from 10 to 50%. Check it out! There’s some tasty stuff: Agave dasyliroides ; rarely seen but a secret favorite of mine

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been back from Maui for over a week now. The past six days have been the week from hell: 10 to 12 hour work days, with no time to play. Maui seemed so very far away, almost like a dream. Yet as I was preparing the photos for this post, I felt like I had been there just yesterday. I guess that’s how it often goes with vacations, especially the ones that are so special you will remember them for the rest of your life. This post is about the Garden of Eden Arboretum . This 26-acre private botanical garden is located near the Ke’anea peninsula along the Hāna Highway (near mile marker 10.5). I spent almost three hours there on day 4 of our trip. I got rained on, suffered more mosquito bites than at any other point in life (over a hundred, without exaggerating) and yet it was one of the most magical places I saw in all of Maui. The guidebooks are ambivalent about it because admission is a fairly steep $15, but if you have even the slightest interes...

As much I was looking forward to seeing our garden after our trip to Maui , the transition back to reality wasn’t easy. I wasn’t ready to come home, and there were still parts of Maui I hadn’t been able to explore. But I guess it’s good to leave something for next time… As for our garden, it didn’t look much different. In spite of the incessant summer heat, the perennial beds in the front yard still look decent. And the areas I planted earlier this spring (on the left in the photo below) are filling in nicely. I’m happy about that. Perennial bed inside the front yard fence

Today was our last day in Maui. I woke up feeling a bit down, and the feeling continued all day. We’ve had such a great time here and it’s difficult to leave all this beauty behind. Even though Hawaii is only a 5-hour flight from Sacramento, vacationing here is an expensive proposition and I don’t know when we’ll be able to return. We spent the morning at Maluaka Beach. My wife and I had been here for sunset a few days ago and thought it might be a good spot for swimming, which it was. Maluaka Beach—organized boating trip (alas, not for us) To see more pictures of Maluaka Beach, please go to this post .

This morning we checked out the northern section of Poʻolenalena Beach , away from the Makena Surf Resort. While there were people on the beach, it certainly didn’t feel crowded. Another slice of paradise! Poʻolenalena Beach Poʻolenalena Beach

Today was a very relaxed day. We started out by swimming at Poʻolenalena Beach, then checked out the beach at Makena Landing, went ziplining in upcountry Makawao, and ended the day at Maluaka Beach. All of these beaches are in the Wailea—Makena area of South Maui, just 2 miles from each other. It’s astounding how many stunning beaches there along such a short stretch! This post will be brief, but I hope you’ll enjoy the photos! Poʻolenalena Beach Poʻolenalena Beach

Molokini is a small horseshoe-shaped “island” off the coast of South Maui. Geologically, it’s a partially submerged volcanic crater that acted as a relief vent for Haleakalā, the 10,023 ft. dormant volcano that dominates the topography of Maui. Today, Molokini is Maui’s premier spot for snorkeling and diving. The sheltered crescent offers protection from the powerful currents and allows you to view the marine life up close. Location of Molokini Molokini from the air (source: Wikipedia )

We’ve been here a week now and finally made it to the beach closest to our condo complex, Keawakapu Beach. It’s located in a residential area and the only properties fronting the beach are private homes. It’s probably the nicest swimming beach we’ve been to ( Big Beach is still my favorite but the surf is a bit too rough there for us casual swimmers). I’m still having a hard time believing this stunning scenery is real. Sometimes it seems like I’m dreaming!

When I woke up this morning, I was surprised to realize that it’s Sunday. Amazing how you lose track of time when you’re on vacation. But that’s also one of the greatest gifts of being away from your everyday routine. Today we explored Lāhainā and Kāʻanapali, the main towns in West Maui. Here is a map for orientation (how I love Google Maps): To me, the name Lāhainā embodies all things exotic. There’s such a wonderful ring to it: Lah-HIGH-nuh. I think of the South Seas, palm trees swaying in the breeze, beautiful people enjoying every minute of every day. A Paul Gauguin painting come to life. Of course reality was (and is) quite different. For starters, Lāhainā means “cruel sun” in Hawaiian. We got here at 9 a.m. and temperatures were in the low 80s, but apparently it can be very hot here on a summer afternoon. In addition, Lāhainā was a major whaling port, which I imagine brought a pretty rough crowd. Conflicts with the resident missionaries (see below) must have been commonplace...