Decorate native greenery as better option for holiday

Thinking about gifts and decor for the holidays? They go hand in hand for creative local gardeners.

I have a large patch of golden Heliconia caribaea that was a gift to isle floral arrangers from the late May Moir. Moir introduced the plant to Hawaii after spotting it during an orchid-­collecting trip with her husband in the Dominican Republic.

My plant was blooming out of season and the flowers made a great gift for a couple of friends of mine. I could also give some rhizomes to a gardening friend.

Look around your garden and see what you can share. Pot some keiki plants and have them ready to give for the holiday season.

If we really care about our aina and our future, isn’t it time to give up buying mainland Christmas trees? Sure they smell good but look at the pests that come with them every year — nasty stinging wasps and hornets (bad for us and worse for our native bees and other pollinators). Invasive species menace defenseless and beneficial native insects. Slugs, snakes and spiders hitchhike in the containers of trees. State agriculture inspectors cannot find every pest.

Try growing your own or finding alternative Christmas trees. Norfolk pines and other kinds of evergreens are grown and sold locally.

Or try something even more creative and Hawaiian. Get a pretty potted ulu, ‘ohi‘a lehua, ‘a‘ali‘i or other festive plant and decorate it. When the holidays are pau, you have a lovely tree to keep on growing in its pot or plant in the ground. If you have a small home, try a fern or other green plant. Anything can be a Christmas tree if you get creative.

Another alternative is to make one of plywood like artist Annie Moriyasu. She got out her saw and crafted a mighty fine tree outline that she can add living bits of red and green to, along with favorite ornaments.

"We had an artificial one for about 10 years because I hate the thought of cutting down a tree every year, not to mention the invasive pests aspect," Moriyasu said. "The fake one got so old and gray that it was shedding needles so that’s when I busted out the saw and got creative. I think it looks pretty cool."

Wreaths can be made from plants in your garden, too. Small bromeliads, Spanish moss, fresh and dried flowers, herbs and evergreens all can be crafted into creative, local-style wreaths.

Kadomatsu to decorate your front entry for the new year can also be creative and local. I make them out of Buddha belly bamboo and ironwood branches. Recent wind and rain knocked down lots of ironwood tips and you can gather up the broken branches at many of our beach parks.

We have other evergreens that grow well in Hawaii, especially in cooler mauka areas like Wahiawa and Waimea.

If you don’t have sakura (cherry blossom) for the finishing embellishment, use another flowering plant to tuck in with the symbolic bamboo and pine.

One of my favorite gifts to give is herb plants or herb bowls. Some of the herbs that thrive in Hawaii are fat leafed oregano, mint, chives, parsley, rosemary and basil. Visit your local garden shop or farmers market to find them.

With a little creativity, you can have a pretty, fragrant home while shopping local and giving local gifts.