Today in the garden

This morning the puppies wanted to go out extra early - it wasn't quite 6 yet. They kept pushing their noses against me so I gave in and left the cozy bed.

I like to walk up the path to the pavilion in the morning, just to see if there is anything new. This morning, I was thinking of you, Harmony. I was musing about how you are so far away, and what life would be like if you were nearby. I didn't get very far, as thinking about what is not only lets me know what I would like different. It doesn't bring what is far away any closer.

There at the top of the path, just at the entrance to the pavilion, was this new and different ginger. See how stripy its leaves are? All of the rest of the ginger here, even the fancy fireworks ginger or tourbillon as I call it, have plain leaves. Here is this baby ginger sprout, different from all the rest. I thought, how appropriate to Harmony. A new and exciting baby plant!

I came back in after both dogs had been out, and looked up striped ginger on the internet. It is also called variegated ginger. The first photos and articles I found did not have pictures of any flowers, and I wondered if perhaps the flowers were rare, or perhaps not worthy of being photographed.

When I found the photos of the flowers, imagine my surprise to find it is a kind of shell ginger, the very flower that is the symbol of our work here at mahinui na lani. The shell ginger is carved onto the gate out front.

Here is the story of how we chose shell ginger. We were living back on the mainland, and had just purchased the house we called hale mahinui. I wanted an image to use on our brochures and for stickers for inside the books, so people would know right away the book belonged with the house. I chose shell ginger because it was so unique. I had never seen that flower before.

Later, much later really, we came to visit the house, and there in the front by the garage was a huge stand of shell ginger in bloom! I was so very surprised. It is not the variegated kind though.

It is interesting to me that shell ginger should persist in this way to show itself around and about our home and work here. It is as if nature is answering a deep sense, an acknowledgment of the spiritual aspect of our home here.

It turns out shell ginger has many properties. The leaves and flowers are high in antioxidants, and are used in teas. The other gingers that grow here are not good for eating. It seems it will be about two years before this new plant is ready to flower.