Episode 704- Lei of the Land
J visits Little Plumeria Farm on the North Shore of Oahu- a 3rd Generation Plumeria Farms started by Jim Little! J tours the Farm and the Incredibly Fragrant Plumeria with Clark and Dane Little… Watch Now!
J Schwanke- Host of Life in Bloom- travels to the island of Oahu in Hawaii for a Special two-part episode- dedicated to the Art of Lei.
Episode 704- Lei of the Land- Watch NOW!
Today J’s traveling the island of Oahu for Lei Inspired desires… and first stop (as it always for J on any visit to Hawaii ) is Cindy’s Lei Shoppe- in Chinatown in Honolulu. J meets with the entire family at Cindy’s and is hosted by Karen Lau Lee- daughter of Cindy Lau- the namesake of this Time Honored, Iconic Lei Shoppe. J and Karen visit about Lei and in true fashion Cindy herself arrives in time to show J how to make a Plumeria Lei… Cindy still has it… and what an honor and treat to Cindy showcase her craftsmanship and the beauty of a Plumeria Lei. To order Beautiful Lei from Cindy’s Lei Shoppe- visit their website- https://www.cindysleishoppe.com/
Cindy Lau- owner of Cindy’s Lei Shoppe- creates a Yellow Plumeria Lei- in great fashion- (AND QUICKLY)… for J during his visit to Cindy’s Lei Shoppe- in Honolulu! Watch Now!
Of course J needs a few lei- for this visit- and Everyone pitches in- to make sure we had Beautiful Lei for everyday of our Visit! Check out our Behind the Bloom with Karen Lau Lee- where she tells about the significance and importance of Lei- and what the future of Lei is to the people of Hawaii… Watch Here -
https://www.ubloom.com/blog/behind-the-bloom-with-karen-lau-lee-at-cindys-lei-shoppe
J is decked out- with plenty of Aloha- with the beautiful lei - created at Cindy’s Lei Shoppe… You MUST ALWAYS Have Lei when you are visiting Hawaii! THANK YOU Karen, Cindy and Family… It’s always J’s First Stop in Hawaii! Watch Now!
Next Stop is on the North Shore of Oahu- at the Famous Little Plumeria Farms, a 3rd Generation Family Plumeria farms- started by Jim Little- a world renowned Plumeria Breeder- that has hybridized hundreds of varieties of Plumeria. J tours the farm with Clark Little and his son Dane Little… as he learns about this traditional Lei flower- and also gets to smell them! Check out Clark Little’s Amazing Photos- that are another bit of Hawaii Goodness here -https://clarklittlephotography.com/
Just a very Small Sample of the Glorious, Beautiful- and extremely Fragrant Plumeria- grown on Little Plumeria Farm- Tours are available to visitors- check out their website for more information - www.LittlePlumeriaFarms.com
Plumeria is considered an Iconic Lei flower for it’s fragrance- and Clark and Dane show J- the exclusive Hybrids created by Jim Little- that have just as exclusive fragrances… Roses, Fresh Peaches, Grape Pez… and even PIZZA… it’s true… and J has the time of his life- visiting with these Two Wonderful Guys filled with the Aloha Spirit! You can tour the Little Plumeria Farm- find out more at their website… https://littleplumeriafarms.com/ - and watch for upcoming Behind the Blooms and At Home with Flowers featuring Little Plumeria Farm.
J visits Ed Kenney- Host of Family Ingredients on Public Television… at his Restaurant “Mud Hen Water” in Honolulu… THANK YOU Meleana Estes for the Wonderful Pua Kenikeni Lei- and Mahalo Nui- to Ed for sharing his talent- and “THE BIG FIVE” with us for this visit- Watch Now!
Next up- it’s a visit to Chef Ed Kenney - host of Family Ingredients on Public Television- you can Watch Family Ingredients on PBS.org- here’s a link - https://www.pbs.org/search/?q=family%20ingredients - Chef Ed Kenney- shares his restaurant- Mud Hen Water- which is a MUST STOP - when you’re in Honolulu… You can learn more about Mud Hen Water here… https://www.mudhenwater.com/ Kel and I - ate her many times during our visit- and every visit was more delicious than the one before… Today- Ed fixes one of his favorite local dishes- The BIG FIVE- made up of 5 unique native Hawaiian Favorite dishes- that just as beautiful as they are delicious- I speak from experience! If you’ve not caught Ed on Family Ingredients- be sure to check this incredible show- It’s on of my Personal Favorites- Admittedly I was a little star struck- and trust me- Ed is just as Wonderful in Person as he is on Family Ingredients!
Not only was Ed kind enough to cook for Life in Bloom- he also allowed us to film additional guests at this Wonderful Restaurant… Where I was joined by my Wonderful New Flower Friend- Meleana Estes- Author of Lei Aloha - This wonderful Book explores the culture and history of Lei- and Meleana shared the process for creating a Lei Po’o - (Lei for your head) … and showed us how she creates these wonderful lei in a traditional way. I love her book- and YOU can get your copy of Lei Aloha here - https://hiehawaii.com/products/lei-aloha - I had such a wonderful time visiting with Meleana- and also learning more about Lei Culture, Tradition and Techniques.
My Amazing Friend Meleana Estes- Author of Lei Aloha - for sharing the Culture, Art and Process of Lei- during our Visit- Meleana- shows us how to create Lei Po’o- (Lei for head- Meleana is wearing) … during our Visit… Order your own copy of Lei Aloha here- Watch Now!
This Episode does - just what the title says- it gives us a Lei of the Land- preparing us for Part 2 of this Visit to Hawaii- where we attend the Lei Day Celebration on May 1, 2024 in Queen Kapi’olani Park in Honolulu. This was a once in a Lifetime Experience- visiting one of my favorite places on Planet Earth- and learning so much about Lei, The Culture of Hawaii- and meeting Incredible Friends that were filled with the Aloha Spirit… Mahalo Nui- to my friends old and new- that made this trip so Wonderful and Meaningful.
Check out Web-Exclusive Content that is posted in the Season 7 Collection of J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom… you can follow this link to that page-
https://watch.ubloom.com/life-in-bloom-season-7
I hope you enjoy this visit to Hawaii- and the Culture of Lei- and start your own plans to attend the Lei Day Celebration one day on the island of Oahu!
Watch Episode 704- Lei of Land- of J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom - Here!