By Heidi Bornhorst

DÉCOR! Brightens up a gloomy rainy day. Lights, trees, poinsettias it’s as simple or as complex as you want to make it.

Decorating with, and gifting plants and flowers is fun for gardeners and the plant lovers on our lists. I started looking around my garden for what I can give to whom and totally “Shop Local”. I Love to check out local garden shops for living plant gifts.

POINSETTIAS can last a long time in a pot if you water them correctly.  Once a week carry the pot to the sink (take off the foil) run water and soak the planting media, let it drain and then put it back in its decorative spot.

If you have the old fashioned hedge type Poinsettia growing outside KEEP it! Grow it, and share it, so can perpetuate this kama’aina classic. These are different from the ones the nurseries grow today.

WHITE POINSETTIEA or Euphorbia leucocephala is another outdoor hedge plant that is gorgeous and fragrant! It has many fun common names like Snow on the mountain, Puno puno, Flor de Nino, White-laced Euphorbia, Snowflake Euphorbia, Pascuita, Snows of Kilimanjaro, and Little Christmas Flower. Sometimes you can find this in pots as well, but it really is most glorious grown in the ground.

LIPSTICK PLANT OR ACHIOTE this old fashioned kama’aina favorite comes in at least three colors: red, super bright red (my fave) and yellow.  The fuzzy pods are attractive when fairly young and they keep well as a cut flower arrangement.  The more mature ones are good in a dry arrangement, and most fun of all are the red coated seeds.  You can make achiote oil for making true Spanish rice and other gourmet treats. Rather than red food coloring or other dyes, grow and use the real thing.  Easy to grow from seeds, cuttings or buy a plant at your favorite nursery.  You can see all of the colors at Ho’omaluhia Botanic Garden; they grown on the trail heading down to the lake, Waimaluhia, from the visitors’ center.

KALAMANSI AND TANGERINES both fruit at this time of year and the trees are so pretty and festive.  I especially love kalamansi for smaller gardens and for versatility in cooking, from drinks, to fish marinades to that special acidic citric touch in salad dressings.

NORFOLK or Cook pines can be grown in pots or in your yard. They don’t smell like the mainland ones but they don’t risk importing any new noxious alien pests either and you can get them for free. They also stay green for months and you can treat them like a houseplant for months (if you like!) and as my Mom says, “No needles on the floor!”

Orchids are so decorative and make the best gifts. Water them like you do Poinsettias.

Happy Holidays!