Before, During, After Photos at Hale o Kalahiki

[Justin]

On this last day of the first quarter of the year, I thought I'd post some photos of the progress I've made during the quarter (and a little progress made during the last quarter of 2013). It's also nice to be posting photos again, now that the TOS has been fixed to address a number of issues that we all raised. I was on a photo strike the last several months, which is why I didn't post any of this sooner. In hindsight, this will perhaps make for a more striking before and after photos. I've added a number of paths, first by doing the back (and ankle) breaking work of hand clearing some walking paths through the uluhe fern, then by having a bobcat widen and flatten what I'd cleared, then by having the bobcat put down cinder on the cleared areas, and then finally by planting along the edges of the paths. There are the "wide" paths that the bobcat cleared (about 2m wide), and also some "narrow" paths that have been hand-flattened and paved (about 1m wide). The wide path meanders all the way from the front corner to the back corner of the lot, crossing the lot a couple times. That wide path I've named "red road" (not particularly clever or original), and split into three parts - lower red road, central red road, and upper red road. Other paths include a path to the Ficus dammaropsis (no special name yet), Pritchardia Way, Pinanga Way, and one other (not pictured or named yet).

Let's start with the east entry to central red road:

Last July

November 2013

Beginning of January:

[Justin]

February/March

[Justin]

Now onto Pinanga Way. This is what the area looked like last November:

And then in January 2014:

[Justin]

Pinanga Way in late February:

[Justin]

This area over by the Ficus dammaropsis, which I planted last July:

November 2013:

[Justin]

And now that same area in January 2014:

And finally about a month ago:

The dammaropsis is doing well enough that I didn't "need" my second one, and traded it to Bill Austin last week.

[Justin]

Okay, next up, the first plantings I made in the new lot, even before "paving" the trails, were two giant bamboos, a Dendrocalamus giganteus and Dendrocalamus asper 'Hitam.' The area around the Hitam was pretty well cleared, but was still densely packed around there. This is what the view to the east looked like in November:

And in January of this year:

[Justin]

Now, fast forward to February:

And now the current view:

[Justin]

From that same (general) vicinity, this is what the view looked like to the west from the Hitam, along central red road, in November:

Fast forwarding several months, this is what looked like in late February/early March:

[Justin]

And again from that same (general) vicinity, this is the view to the south, along Pinanga Way, in November:

In January:

In February:

And in March:

[Dr. George]

:greenthumb: :greenthumb: :greenthumb: :greenthumb: :greenthumb:

gmp

[Justin]

Over by the Ficus dammaropsis, there is a "cliff" that leads down about 10-15 feet. I found a path up the cliff, and made some "stairs" to get up and down the cliff. Here is what the stairs looked like in November:

And by January, it was starting to look like something (well, sort of):

[Justin]

The view from the top of the stairwell, looking out over the lower part of the lot, last November:

in January of this year:

[Justin]

Then in February and March, a lot of work got completed (including planting a bunch of Kerriodoxas on the cliffside):

And now the current view:

[Justin]

Along the way, there is a large crevasse that I have slowly but surely cleared. It's not very far across, but it winds for at least 50 feet (I haven't found the far end yet), and is at deep as 2-3 meters (6-10 feet). Here's the view looking from the shallow end (which I've found) towards the deep end (which will hopefully be found at some point), first in November:

Then in February:

Then in March:

Then about a week ago:

At least now I can see it - before, I was always worried about falling in.

[Justin]

This is the view of "Pritchardia Way," which starts at the bottom of the cliff stairwell, first last November:

(You can see the Dendrocalamus giganteus in the background of the above photo). Here's the same vantage point in late February:

[Justin]

This is the other end of Pritchardia Way, looking back the opposite direction, first in January:

And then the progression in late February and March:

[Justin]

From the street (or Bo's view every morning at about 7:15), this is what it looked like in November:

You can kind of make out the initial walking paths that I then had the bobcat clear later.

[Justin]

And now in January:

And February:

And March:

[Justin]

In the above, you can make out in the background a steep hill, which as we found out is made out of solid blue rock, so there was no way to adjust the slope. This is the view up Blue Rock Hill, first in January:

Then in February:

(Lots of mud over the blue rock)

And now in late March, with Mauritia on the left and Mealy Bug on the right:

[Justin]

This is the view from the top of Blue Rock Hill, looking down the slope, which really didn't seem like a straight slope in January:

And then some photos from what the bobcat managed to do in February and March:

[Justin]

Out in the middle of all this business, where lower red road connects up to central red road, the area was chock-full of avocados and blue jade vine. It was marginally easier to hand clear than the uluhe fern, but a lot harder for the bobcat. Here's what the area looked like in January:

And then February/early March:

[Justin]

Fast forward to March:

The aroids are courtesy of Novelty Greens and Dean's place. Lots of Ohias means lots of spots for aroids. Also, around the corner in the picture immediately above is the top of Blue Rock Hill, and the way down to the front of the lot, hence "lower" red road.

[Justin]

Around that same area where "central" red road intersects with lower red road. Central red road exits/enters the original lot, and used to look like nothing in January:

In February it started to resemble something, with a Neoveitchia on the left side and a Satakentia (??) on the right side:

And now in March, with lots of dead/dying Blue Jade vine. Lower red road heads off to the left (off the left side of the photo), and central red road heads back and to the right, towards the Hitam:

[Justin]

Almost done here. This is central red road, just a bit up the road from the above photos, taken back towards the house, in January:

In February:

And in March:

[Justin]

And, finally, "upper" red road, which is a bit past the Hitam. When I left in early March, the "road" just dead-ended at a huge stand of Uluhe fern. This is pretty much what the whole lot was like, with the exception of the Avocado/Blue Jade vine area:

And, after some bobcat work, here is what it looks like now:

So that's the end of the before-and-afters. If you have questions about any of this, let me know. Either in this post or another one I can go through all the palms and other things I've planted along the paths after they were cleared.

[Dypsisdean]

Another incredible Big Island garden in the works. And the documentation is what is nice. More of us should take the time to do such before-and-afters. I wish I had, because I would really like to see what things used to look like. It helps a lot when you work all week and it doesn't look like you got much accomplished.

But Justin, you have certainly made a major dent in your place the last couple of trips over. And it's been nice "talking story."

[avanza]

What is that name?

Thank you :-)

[bgl]

Justin,

Impressive progress in just a couple of months! And those paths look great and will make an enormous difference now that you're ready to go full steam ahead with plantings! And yes, I do pass by right about that time every single morning on my morning work-out and always take a glance in, enjoying that nice red cinder path! You're going to have lots of fun with that new acre of yours. Amazing topography!

Bo-Göran

[Cindy Adair]

So exciting! What joy there is creating your own personal Eden! Great photos and I'm so glad you are back posting them!

How large is your property?

[Dr. George]

Those paths are great - especially with the red cinder - look great and the cinder will make use and maintenance of the paths so much easier -now its time to get a Gator for your gardening. - gmp

[Justin]

What is that name?

Thank you :-)

Beccariophoenix 'Windows'. It's been growing a nice steady pace the last couple years.

[Justin]

So exciting! What joy there is creating your own personal Eden! Great photos and I'm so glad you are back posting them!

How large is your property?

The original lot (not really photographed in any of the above shots) is an acre, and the new lot is an acre as well. But while the original lot was leveled and flattened, I've tried my best to keep Ohias, Hapu'us, and the natural topography on the new lot.

[Kim]

It may be difficult to interpret some of the earlier photos, but the later shots with the cinder paths really show the huge difference you've made. This has to be one of the most interesting garden properties I've seen, with so many dramatic lava features and the dense uluhe fern layers feeling almost like spongey dried peat when walking over it. Visitors must step carefully -- the lava cracks are impressive. It has to be seen to be believed -- when Justin says "cliff", yes, it's really a cliff! What a great spot for all those Kerriodoxa. And that jade vine -- the ropes were as big as my wrist, on average, and it was everywhere in the trees. I can't imagine how the bobcat managed to tame it. This is one garden to watch!

[NApalm]

Wow. Massive job but well worth it. Would be a tonne of fun to do. Enjoyed the pics.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Good progress Justin .

I guess many people have the perception that palm gardening in" Hawaii is a breeze " but the behind the scenes work looks like an entirely different story

- Weed control looks to be a major undertaking and things can get out of control before you know it ! many hrs spent laboring in the humidity i reckon !

_ digging through the lava rock would defiantly encourage more one gallon plantings .

The pathways looks very effective and natural

cheers Troy

[Justin]

Good progress Justin .

I guess many people have the perception that palm gardening in" Hawaii is a breeze " but the behind the scenes work looks like an entirely different story

- Weed control looks to be a major undertaking and things can get out of control before you know it ! many hrs spent laboring in the humidity i reckon !

_ digging through the lava rock would defiantly encourage more one gallon plantings .

The pathways looks very effective and natural

cheers Troy

Very true. "Growing" is the easy part, but everything else makes "gardening" difficult. Weeds can easily overtake small plants, especially for people like me, who aren't there all the time. Digging is impossible, so the best planting spots are either holes (that get filled in with the plants and cinder soil), or raised dirt areas on the side of the new paths (from where the bobcat pushed everything over to the side).

[realarch]

Oh man Justin, the hard work you're putting in to create the bones of your garden, hats off to you. Those paths are killer and already give a sense of the journey through the garden. I bet you dream of this place, don't you.

Tim

[Justin]

Thanks Tim. The coolest part now is walking end to end, with all the various ups and downs, lefts and rights. It's quite meandering, and there are substantial variations in sun and shade as well - quite a bit of variety.

Because of that, I've tried to find optimal spots for the various palms.

[doranakandawatta]

Justin,

Very interesting thread, it shows what we'll have to do in Doranakandawatta estate's jungle when we'll start, it's a dream!

I noticed we have the same wild ferns, I hope our place will be good for palms too.
But we have porcupines that you don't have, and sadly they love palms too!

Kindest regards

Philippe