Landscape Inspiration- Hawaii

On my last trip to Kauai I was in to mood for hiking and exploring some areas inland that I had never been before. The hikes were up in the mountainous Koke'e State Park and all ended in spectacular views of the North side of the island. As I was hiking along I was of course checking out all of the plants growing up there in the wild, and I was struck by how different the plants up there were from the usual ones seen in tropical styled landscapes. It occurred to me that it might be possible to create a landscape that evokes that tropical feeling, in the Pacific Northwest, using plants that grow more easily here.  

Grassy meadow facing a hillside of trees.

The bright green foliage is such a nice contrast with the darker green foliage and twisty grey branches of the trees.

Hillside of trees and bright green ferns.

Huge ferns and moss covered trees are a bit like the Oregon coast.

There were a lot of commonalities with our own temperate rainforest climate, mainly the abundance of ferns everywhere.  They were predominant under the canopy of trees. One of the main differences was the lack of conifers.  Most trees and shrubs were broad leafed, and the trees were very open with branches exposed. There were hardly any flowers in bloom, leaving a palette of a variety of intense greens against the red or grey earth. There were some tall grasses with plumes at the top that made a nice contrast with all the other vegetation. 

High up in the State Park is a swamp that had a very unique feeling.  It was covered in very low grey shrubs with red bottle brush type flowers, grasses and bright ferns.  With all the low clouds wafting around and the bog water it seemed like a dinosaur was about to appear around the bend.

Akalai swamp

At a certain point on our hike the air was filled with perfume and buzzing with the sound of bees.  There was a whole hillside full of yellow flowers in bloom, and the bees were going nuts over them. The shapes of the flower parts reminded me of honeysuckle, which could be a good substitute here for the same effect.  I was surprised at how many wild honey bees there were in the forest. We came across two hives right next to the trail. So honeybees can be an authentic addition to a tropical garden.

And of course if you really want to make your garden feel like the garden isle just add a few chickens running around begging for food for a truly authentic feeling.

Later we went to one of the national botanical gardens there and saw plenty of the unusual tropical flowers that would only work in a greenhouse here, or perhaps a sunroom. Substitutions for these in  Pacific Northwest landscape could be plants in the lily family like mondo grass, solomon's seal, daylilies, etc; broadleaf evergreen trees with shiny thick leaves like magnolia trees or madrones, plants with bright colored berries like beautyberry or strawberry trees, and evergreen ground covers like dwarf periwinkle.

Landscaping Inspiration- Lake Tahoe

View from the Rubicon Trail

Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful spots on the West coast. It would be a great source of inspiration in creating a residential or commercial low maintenance landscape. Many of the most common trees and shrubs are very similar to Oregon natives if not the same.  In late summer the rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus/ Ericameria nauseosus) was in bloom everywhere. It is one of my new favorite natives shrubs because of its delicate silvery blue foliage, its drought tolerance, and the nectar its flowers produce attracting bees and butterflies in late summer. It grows throughout central Oregon and you can see photos of it in early spring in my post Northwest Natives- Tom Mcall Nature Preserve.

The silver foliage is a nice contrast to the greens in the background.

Another of my favorite native shrubs was in abundance, manzanita (Archtostaphylos). It's smooth red twisting branches, evergreen foliage and white winter blooming flowers make it one of my top choices for most any landscape. Even the name is one of my favorites. Archtostaphylos means bear berry in greek. The groundcover variety's name (Archtostaphyolos uva-ursi)  is like a rosetta stone- it is called bear berry in greek, then latin and then in english as it's common name. If only all plant names were that way. I grows among the boulders in sunny spots under the pine trees. 

Rocky hillside with manzanita, rabbitbrush and pines.

  

Manzanita in the foreground, with Pine, spruce and hemlock trees on the shoreline.

Another important component of a landscape inspired by Lake Tahoe is the use of boulders and wood. The lake is famous for it's huge boulders, and there are many dead trees and logs with particularly nice colors and shapes that are very sculptural.

Of course the most beautiful aspect of Lake Tahoe, the lake itself, can't be brought to a residential landscape, but there is often the possibility of adding a stream or waterfall. These types of water features can add a lot to a landscape, but it is important to use nature as a guide so they look as natural as possible.

Meandering stream below a waterfall.

River rock and sand.

Waterfall in the dry season.

Steep rocky banks.

Storing any kayaks or canoes outside rather than in the garage will add to the laid back vacation vibe, as well as a hammock under a few pine trees. These photos are from the beach I used to play on during my family summer vacations growing up.