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One of the best gifts to give to others is our time.
For plant enthusiasts that could mean time helping or encouraging someone in their garden.
So many kupuna love to garden but may have a hard time with tasks such as mowing their lawns, weeding, pruning and debris removal.
Why not offer this loving kokua to someone in your ohana, or an elderly neighbor who is getting to an age, or state of fragility that some yardwork would give them a lift?
Sharing produce from our gardens is another free and generous gift. Just pick some produce, wash it and maybe wrap it up in a basket with some colorful ribbons and garden greenery. It can do double duty as an awesome gift as well as holiday decor.
Support local
If you’re still OK financially, consider supporting one of our local garden shops. Pretty flowering plants, orchids, herbs or vegetable starters can make excellent gifts for gardeners, along with seeds or bulbs like narcissus, amaryllis or caladium.
Potting mix is also always welcome — I always look for the locally crafted ones. You can pair potting mix with the offer of a little muscle if someone’s plant needs repotting into a larger or heavy pot. Adding cinder to the mix makes a great soil for plants, or can be used to top dress and beautify a garden. Bonus: Cinder repels slugs too.
Useful tools
If the gardener in your life has all the plants they need, you can turn to tools. High-quality garden clippers, a new sharp handsaw or an extendable grip pruner are all useful for yard maintenance. A decent pair of gloves — waterproof or with finger grips — helps protect hands while digging in the dirt.
Electric, battery-operated lawn mowers and string trimmers leave behind the mess of dealing with gas and oil. Plus, the improved technology is great for the environment.
We tested an electric mower for my father-in-law. Among its plusses: It was quiet. So we could mow early while it’s cool out and not disturb the neighbors. The battery was a bit heavy, but it held a charge for at least three mowings and was able to tackle my father-in-law’s big yard with its St. Augustine grass.
Battery-operated string trimmers are next on my list — also quiet and, again, no smelly, spillable gas and oil to manage.
Christmas trees
I love the smell of the mainland trees, but they can contain so many pests. Nasty insects, wasps, slugs, murder hornets and even snakes can hide and ride aboard a tree and get established in Hawaii.
Small potted Cook pine trees can make festive gifts. They grow well and even make good houseplants.
Helemano Farms, a Christmas tree farm in Wahiawa, sells Cook pines and some of the more fragrant trees like Murray and Leyland cypress, as well as Carolina Sapphire trees.
My sister Mimi Bornhorst Gaddis loves their wreaths and favors the open branch structure of a Cook pine tree because “they so nicely showcase my precious heritage ornaments.” Plus, it’s what we grew up with.
Our neighbors the Osorio ohana recently moved to Wahiawa and are having fun exploring that lovely upland town. They went to Helemano Farms as a family to pick out a Christmas tree and went home with a big, beautiful green cypress.
“Who knew there was a Christmas tree farm here?! Last week the girls and I had fun picking it out and today it came into the house,” Mary Osorio said. “We’re trying to figure out how to mitigate the risk of the (newly adopted) destructive dog. We’re really looking forward to decorating it.”
More farms are growing Christmas trees on the neighbor islands too. Growing and buying local helps support each other and keeps alien pest species out of our isles.
Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.
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