Hi'iaka's Healing Herb Garden

Volume 5, Number 3 Spring 2004

A Very Nice Article About the Garden

Sonia Martinez, the food columnist for our local paper, visited the Garden with her son Anthony on April 1 and wrote a very flattering article about the Garden, which appeared on April 20. Mahalo, Sonia!

"With a big welcoming smile and the offer of a refreshing ice-cold pitcher filled with an infusion of her own mixture of herbal tea, Barbara has a knack for making the visitor immediately feel part of her ohana," (family) Sonia wrote. She went on: "Literally carved out in small pockets in the 500 year-old lava flows that surround her home, the four year-old garden offers a spot of serene comfort and beauty. Bees and butterflies in profusion claim it as their home... Volunteer plants are left to grow where the seeds dropped, making for an interesting tapestry of almost wild abandonment... The Garden offers courses and retreats. For those interested in learning more there are residency internship programs. Other local herbalists and alternative healing arts practitioners bring their students to the garden for a few hours of learning and helping to tame the growth of weeds."

A New Family Member

Joyful news! I have just adopted a 5 year-old yellow Labrador named Pochi from friends who were unable to take him to their new home in California. He's fitting in well with 16-1/2 year old Amber, the cats and the chickens and is a very handsome boy.

Poor boy is infested with ticks and doesn't even own a collar, so I'll have fun getting him all fixed up for a more civilized life than he has been used to! I might change his name, too.

Super Simple Guide to Creating Hawaiian Gardens

The rough drafts of all the chapters in my how-to book are done! I am celebrating this week by taking a break from serious keyboard-pounding and research and waiting for two major chapters to come back from reviews by my subject matter experts. Who ever thought that I would be writing about Hawaiian insects and their natural controls? But that's giving me added insight into my own garden and ways to deal with the pests that plague the plants. My plans are to submit my completed manuscript to the publisher in Honolulu by the end of July or early August.

Ohana Cottage News

I have decided to offer the cottage as a longer-term rental for awhile, especially during the coming summer and fall months, when I will be too busy finishing my book to deal with all of the "ins and outs" of guests and the cleaning and laundry routine that involves. Wouldn't it be a fun, relaxing sabbatical to live here for one or two months or longer? Give me a call if you or a friend might be interested.

Cosmetics Workshop a Fun Event May 29

Originally scheduled to be taught by a California herbalist, I ended up teaching this fun one-day event because of circumstances beyond our control. We toured the Garden and made noni healing hand salve, herbal hair rinse, natural exfoliant containing papaya and plumeria leaves, and several teas.

Fall Internships and Hawaiian Healing Retreats

Starting September 12, I'll be offering three 2-week "Live and Learn at the Garden" residency internship programs at the Garden and two 3-day Hawaiian Healing retreats. Students will stay in either the ohana cottage (if available) or the Healing Arts Gazebo and study with me in the garden and the kitchen making plant medicines.

Internship dates are Sept. 12-25, October 3-16, and November 7-20.

Hawaiian Healing retreats will be held on these dates: October 22-24 and November 26-28.

Please spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. You can find more info on my web site, on the Learning Center page.

A Way With Worms

Piper Selden, a Master Composter and Recycler from Oregon who is now living in Hilo, is our island's new expert on worm composting. She is offering classes through Recycle Hawaii at various locations, including Hi`iaka's Garden. Our next workshop is June 26 and I love being able to lead a tour of the Garden and show off my different approaches to the important art of utilizing unwanted plant materials and kitchen scraps for rich, nourishing compost. As a result of these workshops, my own expertise and enthusiasm for composting is growing every day. www.hawaiirainbowworms.com

Blue Crescent Students Finish Their Studies in the Garden

I was sad to see the four students of Susan Perri's Blue Crescent School of Botanical Medicine finish their coursework on May 20 because it meant that we would no longer spend our Thursdays together in the Garden. Best of luck to you all, ladies!

Our Newest Plant Additions

Thanks to the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona, I have added these native Hawaiian plants this quarter:

Awikiwiki, or Mauna Loa vine (Canavale Hawaiiensis).

A member of the morning glory family, Bonamia menziesii, is so rare we don't even know its Hawaiian name. Only one known wild population of this endangered plant exists.

Akiohala, or pink hibiscus (Hibiscus furcelatus).

Lots of Interesting Guests

I've been fortunate to host some interesting and wonderful people the past several months. Most of them are in the process of moving to this part of Hawaii, as are many others. The Puna district is the fastest-growing part of Hawaii: home prices and land values are escalating at an astounding 24% per year right now and people are moving here in droves from many mainland locations. If you've been thinking about making the big move, now is the time, while prices are still affordable!

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