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| A 50-foot-tall monkeypod tree looms large in the verdant, tropical courtyard. |
It
is a huge and grand tree—more than 30 feet high, with a canopy that
reaches out for nearly the entire width of the lot. The monkeypod was
planted when the Kahala property was first developed 50 years ago,
sitting right in the middle of the long, narrow, 23,000-square-foot lot
like some kind of monument.
It
would have been a shame to cut the tree down, so the developer didn't.
Instead, he designed his house around the tree, creating a shady
courtyard with a serpentine wooden deck, which connected the garage and
guest quarters to the main house. Beyond the home, he installed a
lava-rock-lined infinity pool, with a thatched cabana nearby. Beyond
the pool is Kahala Beach and the Pacific Ocean.
The
courtyard, protected by the massive monkeypod, was shady, cool and
tranquil. However, with the wide, thick canopy overhead blocking out
most of the sunlight, establishing a landscape in the courtyard was a
challenge.
"Everything
is literally built around the tree," says Gary Shinn, of Hokuahi Lawns
Inc., who was hired to landscape the property. "Everything that we
planted had to tolerate low-light conditions well. In addition, all
trees lose their leaves and regenerate, but the monkeypod is an
extremely messy tree. Between the low light and the fallen debris, the
tree really takes its toll on the area."
Working
with landscape architect Janelle Oshiro, Shinn began by trimming back
the tree, opening up the area to the precious sunshine during the
crucial grow-in period. He worked from a carefully selected palette of
plants: a variety of ferns, giant ape, bromeliads and the low-growing
ground covers pathos and liriope. It would be a many-textured sea of
variegated green.
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| Indoor, outdoor: A quick rule of thumb is that if a plant does well indoors, it will do well in heavily shaded areas. |
Because
there wouldn't be enough sunlight to sustain flowering plants, Shinn
got spot color from dwarf anthuriums and plants with brightly colored
leaves, such as crotons and ti plants. He trimmed back a grove of
existing MacArthur palms, which grew along the perimeter of the
property, and brought in raphis palms and planted them along the sides
of the home. The spindly, medium-height plants accentuate the Asian and
tropical architectural touches of the home.
For
grass, Shinn chose St. Augustine, a variety known for its ability to
thrive in even full shade. He laid down the lawn in large pieces, like
a carpet, and waited for it to take root. He finished laying it down in
March, then six weeks of rain and clouded skies followed. Without sun
and constantly soaked, the grass rotted.
"If
I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have opened up the
canopy a little bit more to let more sun in," says Shinn. "But who knew
that we would have that much rain?"
Today,
the area, with adequate sunshine, has grown in nicely. It's a verdant,
tropical garden, with a bubbling Balinese water feature at its heart
and a healthy, vibrant monkeypod tree at its soul.
The
home's backyard was an entirely different environment from the shady
courtyard. Fronting the beach, the area was exposed to full sun and
steady and stiff ocean breezes the entire day. The plants Shinn had
planted in the courtyard wouldn't last a weekend in these conditions.
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| Swaying coconut trees provide little shade but plenty of character to the desert-island backyard. |
Shinn
salvaged what he could from the existing landscape. He rehabilitated a
collection of areca palms that fronted the perimeter walls and cut back
a gnarled beach heliotrope tree and an overgrown hala tree in a far
corner. For color, he installed red gingers, colored ti plants and hula
girl hibiscuses, all plants that can tolerate moderately windy and
salty conditions. For visual interest, he added a collection of ferns
and spider lilies.
Shinn
also revitalized an old naupaka bush and installed more than 100
ocean-side plants in the area fronting the beach to protect the
property from erosion. Shinn also brought in several large coconut
palms to enhance the tropical-island feel.
For
grass, Shinn chose seashore paspalum, a variety that can tolerate heavy
doses of saltwater. During March's heavy downpour the lawn faired
surprisingly well, thanks to the sandy soil draining better than
expected. When the skies cleared and the sun shone through, the grass
thrived.
"These
are two very different landscapes, but they still have the same theme
throughout," says Shinn. "It's very tropical. It's a little Asian. It's
the best of both worlds."
While
there aren't too many Island properties as large and spacious as
Shinn's Kahala project, a surprising number of homeowners face similar
challenges when landscaping their homes. In some of the Islands' older
neighborhoods, new owners are inheriting very large, very beautiful,
but sometimes problematic trees. Often, these big trees were planted by
a relative, the original owner, or they just have a compelling story
behind them. Do you cut them down, or do you just landscape around them?
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| Color
Safe: Many flowering plants can't survive in areas of low light or near
the ocean. In those cases, spot color can be provided by plants with
colorful leaves, such as this hybrid ti plant. |
According
to Terri Lee, of Landscapes by Tropical Images, homeowners should think
long and hard about this, making an effort to separate sentiment from
reality. Is the tree healthy? Does it enhance the appearance of the
home, or could it potentially damage the home? Are you willing to
devote the time and money to properly maintaining it?
"People
need to think clear-headedly about these things," says Lee. "People
tend to get attached to old things. But would you attach the same
sentiment to a 50-year-old, broken-down building on your property that
you never use? Also, large trees like monkeypods need to be trimmed at
least every other year, and then there is all that raking that you have
to do throughout the year."
Homeowners
should also be cognizant of what kind of "baggage" comes along with a
large canopy tree. According to landscaper Steve Dewald, of Steve's
Gardening Service, deeply shady areas make growing conditions very
tough for surrounding plants, even hardy grasses. Some trees, like the
Norfolk pine, drop toxic needles or leaves, which kill other plant life
and essentially sterilize the soil. Others, like the monkeypod, release
so much debris that they cover the ground with a thick layer of organic
matter.
"Once
homeowners make the decision to keep a very large tree, they have to
choose their battles and be willing to live with the consequences,"
says Dewald. "I had clients who had two big mango trees on their
property. They didn't want to have it trimmed, because they wanted a
lot of mangoes. But now the grass underneath them is dying, and they
got upset. In that case, you have to be content with either one or the
other."
Jerry
Brown, of Reliable Landscaping & Sprinklers, says finding plants
that can bridge those two microclimates is often not as difficult as it
may seem. There is a surprisingly wide variety of plants that can do
equally well in both shade and full sun: lawai and kupukupu ferns,
taro, ti plants, crotons and even philodrendons.
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| Hardy and easy to grow, Australian tree ferns thrive in shady, protected areas but do well in sunny areas, too. |
"A
good rule of thumb is that, if the plant does well indoors, it will be
OK in the shade. Shade plants will tend to be your greens," says Brown.
"However, when you're talking about wind- and salt-tolerant plants, it
gets a little trickier. The best bet is to consult an expert, a nursery
person. They'll tell you what will grow where, and from there you can
plant things with confidence."
Having
both shady and sunny landscapes on one property does have some very
distinct advantages, one being variety. According to landscaper Kevin
Mulkern, if homeowners think creatively, they can have vastly different
settings in one home.
"I
always look at a property with two distinctive climates as an
opportunity rather than a challenge," says Mulkern. "The advantage of
having a nice courtyard with shade is that you have a protected area
where you can put in some delicate plants that normally wouldn't do
well in most Island settings. Then you can go out to your nice lawn and
lie on your hammock between two coconut trees. You can have your Manoa
Valley in your lush courtyard on one side and Kahala Beach on the
other." |
