Proteas in Hawai‘I *

This book is unique, a combined talent of two famous artists, written by a Maui writer Paul Wood and beautifully photographed by Ron Dahlquist. The artists team up to celebrate these wildly diverse flowers—their origins, their floral secrets, and their usefulness as the most enduring bouquet plants in the world. The introduction of the exuberant Proteas to Hawai‘i can be credited to one man, Dr. Phil Parvin. Today, 177 acres are dedicated to protea production. Some of this cultivation takes place on the island of Hawai‘i (aka the Big Island), where growers are experimenting with lava cinders as a planting medium. But most of Hawai‘i’s proteas grow in Maui’s Kula district within a few miles of the site of Parvin’s first experiments. The world’s curiosity turned to desire—from South Africa, Amsterdam to New Zealand and Australia. Also, in Zimbabwe, Israel, the south of France, Portugal, California, Chile and on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, in just about every climate proteas have found favorable homes. This book includes gardening with Proteas, caring for your bouquet, how to make a wreath, the protea tribes and many vivid, magnificent photographs. Hawai‘i’s proteas are new and they are the flowers of the future.