Lei giving (or piling 🙂 is a local tradition for congratulating the graduate after the ceremony. From photo below, we can spot many of our island beloved lei from top to bottom, they are Single Purple Orchid Lei, Black Kukui Nut and White Seashells, Candy lei, Orange and Light Purple Cigar Lei, Purple Orchid Lei, Brown Kukui Nut Lei, Sea Grape Lei, Rainbow color Yarn Lei, Black Kukui Nut Lei, Tuberose with Ilima Lei, Ti Leave Lei, Double Crown Lei, Green Paper Origami Lei, Miale Lei, Blue Ribbon Lei, White Kukui Nut Lei.

Gardenias season on the island is between April and July. Season peaks right about now in June. If you want them in August, pray for heavy rain in July:) Not recommended. Care of gardenias is simple. When you bring home fresh gardenias from the florist, blossoms are usually tight and off-white with a light touch of green in color. To speed up the bloom and release of fragrant, display your gardenias in the warmer part of the house with bright light. To keep unused bunches dormant, place them in a small short glass of water, place a plastic bag over them to keep the buds from drying out and keep them in the lower shelf of your refrigerator. You can do similar to displayed gardenias when you’re out and about. Upon return, take them back out from the refrigerator, remove plastic bag and continue to enjoy the fragrant of these beautiful summer blossoms. Replace browned flowers with new buds, and change water often. Enjoy the summer. With gardenia around, you’re sure to be in paradise.

Unwrap your bouquet of ribbon, plastic sleeve, and wet paper towel; put it in a vase with some water; you could enjoy your bouquet for another few days.  Better yet, order your bouquet with open stems and no unwraping is required. After the prom, simply place your bouquet in a mid-size vase with some water. Enjoy your prom.  Enjoy your bouquet.

unwraping is easy.

After the bouquet flowers wilted, untie the bouquet, check to see if the flowers are wired (orchids, plumeria, hypericums are usually wired).  Flowers with wire removed can be tossed into your green recycle bin (yard waste bin) for greencycling. Wire can be tossed into your regular waste.  H-power will pick out the metal wire before it goes into the burner.