beauty without trying

sometimes it doesn't take any effort to grow something beautiful. when i was in real estate, i would put orchids in homes i was selling as part of the staging. then one day when the flowers died, i took the bare plants home and and crammed them into holes in the lava rock wall that runs along the walkway to my house. i spray them with water whenever i get a chance but that's about it. and voila!

it's funny how i try so hard to take care of some of the plants in my garden, and the one i ignored the most needed no help at all. hope you're keeping cool this summer!

subtle season changes

when you live in a climate like i do in hawaii, it's easy to let the years go by without much reference to the seasons. i recently listened to a podcast where the host remembered the books she read last summer because she remembered it was at the beach, which meant it was summer. well when you live in hawaii, that could be any day of the year (i know, i'm not complaining :).

in the past i was so busy that i didn't really notice, but now that i'm enjoying the slooooow life, i've been trying to notice the small changes that do happen, even in our climate. the wonderful thing is that certain patterns of memories evolve with the marking the seasons. here are few beautiful blooms in our little island garden.

the crepe myrtle is bursting with blooms. when we first moved in many years ago, it was a dying little plant and i had no idea what it was. i don't see many crepe myrtle in hawaii but i have ended up falling in love with gorgeous plant and look forward to seeing in bloom right outside my living room window. we are going on a road trip in a few weeks and can't wait to them in charleston s.c. and savannah georgia.

i wasn't expecting any mangoes this year as i pruned the tree pretty hard early this year and thought it wouldn't have much energy for fruit, but there is a cute little bunch. i do notice they are smaller than they normally are. this variety is called hayden and it's round with lots of sweet delicious flesh.

the torch ginger seem bloom all year long but in the summer the plants seem more lush and full of flowers. these are great for arrangements because they last quite a while.

the agapanthus wasn't getting as much sun as it needed so in the past it didn't bloom too much but this year it's going great. i don't know what type it is. it's smaller than the other type i have so it might even be some type of lily. if you know please let me know in the comments.

hope you're enjoying your summer and i'd love to see the signs of summer in your part of the world!