The Grapevine 
INE 
VOSS SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER, 1954 Ce iene 3 
Island Idyll, or the 
Peripatetic Plantsman 
(Philip E. Chandler, author, lecturer, and 
EGR salesman, has again this year made his 
way to and through distant lands (last year: 
Europe) and has contributed the vivid obser- 
vations of gardens of the ‘’Paradise of the Pa- 
cific’’ found below.) 
One of the most fascinating characteristics 
of Hawaii is the great variety of both natural. 
and planted landscape. At sea level on the 
windward sides (north and east) of all the 
Islands the weather is very warm and wet, the 
countryside correspondingly lush and brilliantly 
green. To the opposite exposures along the 
sea come little rainfall, little cloud; thus the 
air is drier, the sky and water a brighter blue, 
the vegetation less lush. Here and there, as 
on the lee side of Mt. Haleakala occur small 
deserts of Cacti, Agave, and considerable dust. 
Even within the city of Honolulu the moisture 
varies from two inches on Diamond Head, 15 
to 20 inches at Waikiki, 26 inches downtown 
(the official weather bureau), to 98 inches in 
parts of Makiki Heights and nearly 200 inches 
on Tantalus! Furthermore the temperatures 
drop perceptibly at all hours as one approaches 
the hills and snakes up the long green valleys. 
These physical variations affect plant materi- 
als and allow much greater variety in gardens 
than in most of the Torrid Zone. The island of 
Maui particularly runs the gamut from Bread- 
fruit and Mangoes at sea level through Citrus, 
Avocados and endless Eucalypti at 1500 to 
3000 feet; miles of Plum orchards above that; 
to Pine, scrubby Corprosma and Silver Swords 
above 8000 feet. 
Sea level gardens and those only slightly 
higher back against the wet green Pali (cliff) 
in Honolulu display the usual tropical wealth 
of exotic trees and shrubs most visitors associ- 
ate with Hawaii in general, the incomparable 
structure of the Monkey Pod (Samanea sa- 
(Continued on inside page) 
Come Fill the Cup 
Housebroken 
As a suggested departure from the cliches 
among indoor plants we would like to bring 
to your attention the Bromeliads, South Ameri- 
can relatives of the commercial pineapple plant. 
The species and hybrids which we currently 
have on display are not only among the finest 
of the entire family but are singularly fool- 
proof house plants as well. 
Only within the last year or two have the 
Bromeliads received a measure of long de- 
served attention from the national publications 
concerned in one way or another with indoor 
living. One of the best and most fascinating 
of all exhibits in the International Flower Show 
at Hollywood Park last Spring was a display 
of locally grown Bromeliads. Visitors at the 
RF 
Jules Padilla Photo 
show will recall the striking beauty of the most 
unusual flowers of certain varieties competing 
for decorative honors with the sometimes bril- 
liant and bizarrely patterned foliage of other 
types. 
In general the form of the Bromeliad may 
be described as a sort of cup or pitcher created 
by stiff, tightly clasping leaves radiating and 
recurving outward in a symetrical sunburst 
pattern. The central cup or pitcher is intended 
by nature as a water reservoir and accounts 
in large part for the plant’s ability to survive 
widely varying indoor conditions without com- 
plaint. The exotic flowers which may be pink, 
(Continued on inside page) 
