Gardening nourishes soul, ohana in Aiea

Sophia Pahio’s cheerful attitude is apparent as she works in her Aiea garden. It’s no wonder her plants are thriving and look so healthy and happy, too.

Gardening has always been a part of her life. In the yard of her childhood home in Pearl City, she would help her mother pick mangoes and avocados and gather tomatoes, eggplant, okra and papaya planted by her father.

“It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to grow something from a seed, pick the vegetable or fruit and eat it,” she said.

Pahio, a registered nurse at Pacific Endoscopy Center and an on-call school nurse for Kamehameha Schools, spends as much time as she can in the garden, a place that she said brings her a sense of peace.

“I come home from work, put my hat on and spend my time here. It’s a great way to decompress after eight hours of work.”

Three raised plant beds on one side of the house were a birthday present built for her by her husband, Kelly Pahio, a Honolulu Police Department sergeant, in April. The beds are filled with an array of vegetables and herbs including cilantro, Thai basil, oregano, Italian parsley, lemon thyme, Manoa lettuce, pak choy, beets, spinach, eggplant, tomatoes, winter melon, zucchini, cucumbers, jalapeno, bell peppers, radishes, okra, green onion and arugula. (She’s planting squash, long beans and more radishes.)

To provide the more fragile plants a shelter from the wind, she places plastic water bottles cut in half over them to create miniature greenhouses.

“The plants were flimsy, and the wind was blowing it around, so I covered it,” she said.

To attract bees, there are flowers such as nasturtiums, which also repel harmful insects.

The garden provides the Pahios and their 15-year-old son with fresh produce and tasty dishes she cooks with each harvest. “Salad nights” are on the menu, and Pahio also loves to saute beet greens and spinach.

Always looking for new recipes to try, Pahio said she plans to make chimichurri sauce using Italian parsley and cilantro, and winter melon soup with pork.

“My husband loves soup dishes, so I can’t wait to cook it. And he can’t wait to eat it,” she said. “I love to grill zucchini and eggplant. And pak choy is a nice addition for saimin.”

On the other side of the house, she put in an aquaponic system after purchasing a kit at a Home & New Product Show at Blaisdell Center earlier this year. Pahio grows more veggies there.

“It was easy to set up, and we added the guppies,” she said.

The calamansi, papaya and mango trees that grace the backyard were a sentimental choice for Pahio, a reminder of her garden as a child.

There are also flowers. “I want to have a flower garden so I can have fresh bouquets every day,” she said.

Pahio collects and reuses glass bottles and jars as vases so she can share the blooms with others.

She has a collection of orchids, and air plants such as tillandsia hang in colored-glass containers and grow in clumps on the spreading branches of a big red mayhaw tree.

“Perhaps it’s my memory of my dad and his love of gardening that adds to my comfort and serenity when I’m in the garden,” she said. “Papa passed away in 2009, but I still have his papaya trees, seeded from his papayas, jade and air plants in my yard to remind me of him.”

“Garden Party” spotlights Hawaii’s unique and exceptional gardens. Call 529-4808 or email features@staradvertiser.com.