Mimi Torchia Boothby

Hawaiian Hibiscus

One of the wonderful things about Hawaii was all the beautiful flowers that flourish there year round. The state flower of Hawaii is the yellow Hibiscus. We found, however that we liked the Hibiscus arnottianus much better, it is so striking in contrast and simplicity with its pure white petals and red stamens. The sad thing about this flower is that it has not been found in the wild for some time, as it readily crossbreeds with other hibiscus. It is actually a small tree, we saw a lovely one at the Amy Greenwell ethnobotanical garden south of Kona.

A really neat thing about this garden is that they mimicked the Hawaiian terrain by planting sea level loving plants on the lower part of the garden, and then as you move up the hill, the plantings change to show in a microcosm the ecology of the big Island of Hawaii.

This 6 x 9″ painting is for sale, $100.

Do you have a favorite flower?

admin

9 responses to “Hawaiian Hibiscus”

  1. I love the way you captured the fragile nature of this hibiscus, which is so different than other varities. I don’t recall seeing any of this particular variety “in captivity” like all of the hardier hybrids. One of the things I really loved about being in Kona was seeing how people used the flowering shrubs to make hedges. All of the colors and aromas in Hawaii are such a wonderful memory and you have brought these memories all back so well.

  3. Great watercolour. I particularly like the delicacy and the contrast between light and dark. The red white and greeen bounce off each other quite nicely.

    My favourite flower? Sturt’s desert pea – Swainsonia formosa. Here’s a piccy – South Australian Floral Emblem

    Thanks for sharing your art.

    Best wishes,
    Liz
    (also a sometimes artist)

  5. Hibiscus–I have never seen a white one before! So lovely!

    My favorite flower: Lilacs, which will appear on my post for “L”.

Leave a Reply