City Gardener Sandbox

Let me try to convince you The intent of writing a blog is to share my experience with gardening, both indoor and out. So, writing about a hiking trail seems a bit tangential to the original intent of the my mission statement -  "gardening from a high-rise apartment in a cold climate." But bear with me, maybe I can illustrate how this trail is really a very long garden, and I'm doing field work , not purely hiking for pleasure. Why we are visiting this park As I wrote in my previous blog post  we chose this area for hiking because we could do a multiday hike, walking from inn to inn using only our own two legs and public transportation (not including the flight). We walked from Muir Woods into the section of the Golden Gate Rec Area located in Marin County. Nestled within the park is the little village of Muir Beach where we spent a couple of nights enjoying coastal trails in the area. The sunny coastal trails were a great contrast to the shady quiet of Muir Woods. Golden...

The goal With less than 14 lbs in our backpacks we wanted to hike through a gorgeous woodland, walking from inn to inn where we’d find  a comfy place to eat and sleep each night. Call it glamping. The setting Most of the northern California coast is dotted with an almost continuous succession of federal and state parks and reserves. At least to my eye it appears that way on the map. In terms of plant and wild life, these areas are certainly a national treasure. Sadly, as a Midwesterner I know little about them or the wonders they contain. But beginning in 2022 and again this year we were able to visit Muir Wood National Monument, located in Marin County, a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. Route to the redwoods We chose Muir Woods after reading an article about the park in the travel section of a publication (I've now forgotten which publication). The article described how one could fly into San Francisco, take a ferry (or bus) across the Bay to the city ...

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Honolulu, HI Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Honolulu HI This photograph says so much about this special garden in a single image: - Senator Daniel Inouye represented Hawaii in the US Senate for decades. He was of Japanese descent and a senior in a Honolulu high school when he witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Later, he volunteered for an all-Japanese army unit which served first in Mississippi, then in Italy and France during the war. The airport has rightfully been named in his honor.  - The building itself was designed - by the great Honolulu architect Vladimir Ossipoff - in the open native Hawaiian concept of the lanai. To native Hawaiians the lanai was a free-standing building with a thatched roof and open-sided walls to allow a fresh breeze to wash through. The main concourses of the airport terminal are all open to the outside air, recreating the concept of the lanai. Upon landing in Honolulu, the freshness of the ...

Queen Lili’uokalani The last reigning monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili’uokalani, was deposed by a group of rich white American business men, ending the Hawaiian monarchy. Many of the men were the sons of missionaries who came to the Hawaii to spread the work of Jesus. The missionaries and their sons were gradually granted lands by the newly converted Hawaiian chiefs such that the missionary family’s acquired the wherewithal to control the growing economy. Finally in 1893, the American business men called on US troops to invade Honolulu allowing them to overthrow the monarchy. Their goal was for the Islands to become a protectorate of the USA, cementing their hold on the Hawaiian economy. Lili’uokalani was convicted of inciting rebellion by a panel of the businessmen. She was sentenced to years of hard labor, which was reduced to confinement in her own bedroom of Iolani Palace. US guards paced outside her bedroom door day and night. To pass the time the former Queen composed Hawaiian music...

Forest trail in the foothills near Honolulu I get it, when folks go on vacation they want to relax. Our jobs and homelives are often stressful and full of obligations. Most people coming to Hawaii as a tourist want a comfortable place to stay, somewhere near a safe clean beach, and with easy access to good places to eat. But in order to provide these amenities for thousands of travelers at any one time means the built environment has to replace the natural environment. Don't expect a quiet tropical beach in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu. My partner and I have found a bit of an antidote for the overcrowding on the beach: head for the hills. The Hawaiian Islands have some wonderful hiking trails where the natural environment is largely preserved. Sure, there are lots of invasive plants and trees, an ancient Hawaiian wouldn't hardly recognize the place. But still, the hills are all jungle-y, green, and lush. Most of the state parks are free, and many provide basic services ...

Koko Crater Koko crater is one of at least 5 major volcanic craters on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Koko is perhaps the youngest of them, having started to form 40,000 years ago, intermittently erupting until 7000 years ago. And, it may not be done yet. Two of the other more famous craters on Oahu are Diamond Head and Punch Bowl craters. Looking east from downtown Honolulu one sees the profile of Diamond Head crater. Just beyond Diamond Head lies Koko Crater, rising to a height of 1000 feet. It is an easy 20 minute bus ride from Diamond Head, and 30 minutes from Waikiki beach. The 60 acres of the Koko Crater Botanical Garden is situated in the bowl of the crater. The conditions there are desert-like due to the absence of either rainfall or run-off from the larger nearby mountains on Oahu. The Koko Garden is one of the five botanical gardens owned and operated by the County of Oahu's Honolulu Botanical Gardens. Entry is free of charge, but services are minimal and limited to a few p...