Today I planted a puakenikeni which is a very popular backyard tree in Hawaii that has a strong heavenly fragrance. We decided to plant it just upwind from the house. Puakenikeni in Hawaiian means ‘ten cent flower’ because in the 1930’s the price of puakenikeni leis were just 10 cents… the cost to buy two big loafs of bread at the time.
I didn’t plan it this way but this tree is coincidentally the 100th tree I planted this year of which 27 are cacao trees! Aside from the trees I planted 37 shrubs and vines, 12 bananas, 2 palms, and 9 miscellaneous plants with a 100% survival rate thanks to all the rain.
On new years day I decided to start planting on a whim and just stuck with it. Thank you friends for all your encouraging comments and positive vibes. I’ve come this far so I’ll keep pushing along till we run out of space or trees. Mahalo!
Originally posted on 2021-04-10, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.