I have lived here on Kauai for almost 27 years. It is a stunning and serene place to call home. This island has embraced me and my family. Here we have grown up together. This land we tend is beyond beautiful and the abundance of food and flowers it provides for our bodies and souls is epic. But, there is something about my roots on the East Coast of the mainland that still hums in my heart. This time of year I yearn for that swing into spring heralded by the bulbs bursting from their winter sleep. For the smell of new growth and damp earth as the light slowly returns. Sure, we have seasons here in the Hawaiian Islands –subtle nuances that one becomes aware of over the years. But, deep inside I am a New England girl even still. Tropical fruits do not sing to me as berries still warm from the sun do. Gardenias, while their heady fragrance means spring on Kauai and I pick them by the armloads and love them, tulips make me even headier and happier. I guess you can take the girl out of New England, but not New England out of the girl!

Here: Gardenias

There: Raspberries

There: Tulips

Here: Papayas