Recent heavy rains have brought on the gorgeous blooming of rain lilies — an old-fashioned Hawaii garden plant that many of us cherish.

Other common names are magic lily, fairy lily, atamasco and zephyr lily. Its Latin, or scientific, name is Zephyranthes, classified within the lily family Amaryllidaceae. The scientific name has Greek origins: “Zephyrus” is the god of the west wind; “anthos” means flower.

The plant is native to the Americas, and there are at least 70 species. They do hybridize, and breeders opt for different colors and enhanced drought tolerance.

Several color forms grow well in Hawaii, such as pink, white or yellow.

I first learned about rain lilies from my mentor and hanai tutu May Moir. She always grew the golden-flowered variety in her rock garden, and in an old concrete driveway that served as a rustic garden path. She taught me how to collect and grow more from seeds.

Moir had the yellow- and the white-flowered varieties in her garden. I have the yellow rain lily in my garden and along my “mow curb” — the strip of land between the curb and paved sidewalk. When they bloom, I think of Moir and all that she shared with me. What a lovely garden gift of friendship!

Recently, when I was visiting my Auntie Hilda in Manoa, I noticed some nice sidewalk mow curbs planted with the pink-flowered variety. I’ve also been noticing the yellow ones in sidewalk strips along Palolo Avenue.

Preserve the aquifers

We want to encourage people not to concrete over our whole island, right?

Concrete and other impermeable surfaces restrict rainwater from trickling down and replenishing our aquifers. Excess hard surfaces such as roads, walkways, concrete driveways and even the mow curbs can lead to flooding downslope. Freshwater runoff into our oceans prevents the groundwater recharge that is vital to our future.

The “sidewalk,” which includes the area between a curb line or the pavement of a roadway, and the adjacent property line, is public property. However, it is each homeowner’s responsibility to maintain the grassy strip.

Some people get tired of maintaining the grass and concrete over this strip. This is a violation of the city’s Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. Plus, it is not neighborly or pono for our aina. Please everyone, let’s kokua and do the right thing. Water is vital for all of us.

As a pretty alternative to grass, consider installing a gravel strip planted with colorful Zephyranthes lilies. This creative landscape solution saves the time and energy, in addition to the gas, oil and noise of maintaining, mowing and edging a grass strip.

Zephyranthes can be grown from bulbs. You can ask for this xeriscape garden plant at your favorite nursery or garden shop.

Or, after a good rain and mass blooming cycle, some rain lilies’ flowers will develop seed pods. After the three-valved seed pods ripen for a bit, stacks of flat black seeds are found in each pod. You can also grow more plants from these seeds.

Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.