It’s not every day you receive a box on your doorstep from Volcano, Hawaii.

Squeal!!!

My friend Laura and family sent us a dozen Mini Anthuriums by way of Akatsuka Orchid Gardens in Hawaii. Aren’t they breathtaking?  It wasn’t until I looked at the website that I realized we had been there on our visit to the Big Island several years ago.  Goosebumps!

Anthuriums, banana leaves and flax

The waxy stems traveled 2,352 miles (3,785 kilometers) to get here. They arrived wrapped in beautiful green paper, soft foam, a sheet of plastic and damp, shredded newspaper. The contents smelled like an evening on the shore.  I’m going to add it to my compost bin for a bit of Hawaiian flare.

Packaged in damp, shredded newspaper

In addition to the heart-shaped stems, they included several exotic greens, including banana leaves and flax. The greens, reds and golds light up the room. What an extraordinary gift.

Mini Anthuriums

Reds and corals

According to The Flower Expert:

The red, heart-shaped flower of Anthuriums is really a spathe or a waxy, modified leaf flaring out from the base of a fleshy spike (spadix) where the tiny real flowers grow. The anthurium flowers appear as a roughness on the spadix as compared to a smooth spadix. Most common colors of anthuriums are red and shades of red.

In Greek, the name Anthurium means tail flower. The plant’s stem lengths may grow to a height of 15-20 inches depending on the size of the spathe, i.e., the bigger the spathe, the longer the stem. Its leaves are usually simple, large, attractively colored and borne on long stalks. The flowering stalk is slender, ending in a fleshy column crowded with many unisexual flowers. They have leafy bracts which may be white, yellow, red, pink, orange or green.

This glass, lotus-shaped bowl was a wedding gift. I think it’s perfect for these blooms

Aloha