American Gardening 



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Ko/. XIII 



NOVEMBER, 1892 



No. II 



A GARDEN IN HONOLULU. 



GLIMPSES OF OUTDOOR LIFE ON THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



[|UR house in Honolulu was of generous 

 dimensions. It stood midway of the gar" 

 den, facing Nunann avenue and look- 

 ing off toward Punch Bowl crater, in 

 the rear. Fifty feet from the house, 

 straight across the front yard, ran a 

 rivulet of clear water, coming from 

 further up the valley and making haste toward 

 the sea. This little stream was an unfailing 

 delight ; for at least 200 feet, the space be- 

 tween the two gardens on either side, it was a possession 

 all one's own, and its melodious murmur and beneficent 

 influence were never wanting. It refreshed the whole 

 little domain, was a playmate for the children, and, 

 while it was free to enter and leave as it pleased, chose 

 to loiter and give its services every day in the year. 



Along the low banks of our rivulet the vegetation grew 

 little more luxuriantly than it did elsewhere, for every- 

 where it was abundant enough, the almost daily after- 

 noon showers that came down the valley supplying suffi- 

 cient moisture to keep the entire garden green and flour- 

 ishing. Yet at one spot near the water there was some- 

 thing like a tangle, which became a favorite resort. Here 

 were two or three date-palms that the birds affected, and 

 close at hand a clump of cocoanut trees grew. I used 

 to long to climb these slim trunks as the natives do — and, 

 indeed I might with some practice have done so, for the 

 trees were not very tall or straight — but I contented my- 

 self with ingloriously shying missiles at their tops when- 

 ever I wanted a nut. Various other tropical growths — a 

 thicket of bamboos, some low bushes and a few mango 

 trees — were not far away. Our horses were very fond of 

 the mangoes, and whenever allowed their freedom in the 

 front yard, made straight for the trees, under which 

 there was generally a windfall of the fruit. 



A traveler's tree was one of the curiosities of the 

 place. This is all profile, the flat surface of a tree, as if 

 it had been crushed like a flower within the leaves of a 



book. Our specimen was of no great height, but 

 whether these strange trees attain to lofty stature I do 

 not know ; certainly they are only expected to point the 

 way horizontally. Many other kinds and forms of 

 plant-life were all about us, more than I could name or 

 remember ; but, fortunately, this particular garden of 

 our content was not over-crowded, as were our neighbors' 

 premises. The tendency in houses is to fill rooms with 

 a rich repletion of furniture. Nature is so prodigal that 

 she displays a like propensity outdoors, although she 

 never violates good taste. There was not a stifling pro- 

 fusion of flowers on our grounds, but a wealth of green 

 grass, green leaves and native bloom. 



This was true of the front yard. The back yard, it 

 must be confessed, presented a different appearance. 

 While one-half of our domain was a model of elegance 

 without artificiality, the natural growth of the other 

 half showed every inclination to run riot. All the 

 plants, and they were legion, reveled in wanton luxuri- 

 ance. Trees, bushes, shrubs and weeds followed their 

 own sweet will, which was to scramble all over each 

 other, and throw everything into confusion. The entire 

 half acre, especially in the corners, was a dense jungle of 

 heavy undergrowth, and was left as a hopeless case to 

 itself and the hens. I could not find that the jungle was 

 at all unhealthy, and when the weather was cool it was 

 a pleasant retreat enough ; much such a spot as one may 

 see back of an old farm house — half forest, half kitchen- 

 garden. The birds took delight in the place, building 

 their nests there unmolested, and resorted thither on all 

 occasions. 



Adjoining this half-acre was the little paddock, or run, 

 in which the horses were turned. This was a decided 

 contrast to the jungle, being almost bare of trees, though 

 by no means unattractive in appearance, for its sward 

 was always green, and it was fringed about with rows of 

 tall bushes. The barns and outbuildings were near the 

 paddock. They were not the generous quarters which 



