US state Hawaii



US state Hawaii

Introduction

Beginning in the late 1920s, Madison Avenue advertisers began a campaign for modernity; since then America's collective fascination has been with the new and improved. Cars, clothing, hairstyles, home decor and many other aspects of the daily lives are constantly being updated. People seem eternally to be modifying, changing, redecorating, renovating, or even tearing down and replacing, all for the sake of having something new. Not surprisingly, plants are subject to this same trendiness, and the popularity of garden plants can change quickly and dramatically. Although Hawaii tends to lag behind the U.S. Mainland, people follow the trends in fashionably popular plants here all the same. Society's image of “Hawaii the paradise” has shaped the landscapes, not according to biological reality but by how people imagine tropical islands should look. Hollywood-style imagery in films, television, video, books, print media, and even popular songs has created an image of a verdant paradise. Few native plants fit this imagery, despite their innate loveliness and evolutionary uniqueness. Landscape designers and home gardeners have tended to shun the native species in favor of introduced ones. Therefore, all the issues related to the geography of US state Hawaii.

Discussion

Heliconias, proteas, anthuriums, and lush tropical foliage are not native to the Hawaiian archipelago, yet they have become inseparably associated with the place in the minds of millions of visitors and many residents. This is a sobering commentary on the power of contemporary media. The Hawaiian landscape has been reshaped in the last 50 years to conform to tourist expectations. This is nowhere more evident than in Waikiki or on the grounds of resorts and hotels throughout the state. Landscape plantings are designed with little regard for which native (or even introduced) plants would best suit the ecological conditions there. Creating and maintaining a verdant landscape on a dry coastal desert is awesome testimony to the human capacity for reshaping the environment to suit perceived societal desires (Edmund, 1999, 48).

Contemporary landscape designs and choices of plant materials are also societal driven. The role of commercial landscaping displays is often seminal in establishing trends in gardening. Originally, the most elegant gardens in Hawaii were those of citizens affluent enough to afford large gardens; these same individuals often introduced new plants to the Islands. Today, these fine private gardens have mostly been supplanted by commercial landscaping displays developed for business or corporate properties. Indeed, the most extravagant landscape displays are typically those created for hotels, resorts, golf courses, shopping centers, malls and other commercial venues. An extensive network of professionals design, installs, and maintains the landscapes, while others propagate and grow the plants for them. The commercial landscapes have become a defining element for what urban-dwelling residents of Hawaii. Fortunately, the urban landscape also includes public parks and open spaces on school campuses, hospital and church grounds, cemeteries and other properties. On Oahu, military bases occupy significant tracts of land. As a general rule, these spaces are some of the best urban ...