JARS v63n1 - One Man's Dream

One Man's Dream
Sherla Bertelmann
Kea'au, Hawaii

I want to share with you one man's dream, his love of vireya rhododendrons and what he and his wife Sandy (Betsy) have done because of it. His name is Robert "Mitch" Mitchell.

The Past
Mitch was never a gardener. All he knew was when he retired he didn't want a lawn, one that he would have to mow. Then he retired to Volcano Village on the Big Island of Hawaii and his home, Kimalia, in the middle of a rain forest. He got his wish, he has no grass. Instead, he has maintained the rain forest by keeping all the tall ohia trees and hapu'u ferns. Under this canopy he has filled the garden with color, planting beds of anthurium, cymbidium orchids and vireya rhododendrons.

Mitch discovered vireyas sometime in the mid '80s. At first, like many newcomers, he was fascinated with the vireya hybrids, especially the large bi-colored ones. They took his breath away. A few years later Mitch arranged for a meeting with other local vireya growers and a delegation of ARS members who came from the mainland to see about starting an ARS Chapter in Hawaii. At first a Hawaii Vireya Society was formed with Mitch its first president. Slowly, mostly by word-of-mouth, the attendance of the monthly meetings increased. In 1997, the Hawaii Vireya Society became the Hawaii Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. (We just turned 10 years old!)

The Present
Since then, Mitch discovered hybridizing and vireya species. The number of crosses Mitch has done to date is well over 60. Many have already been registered with the International Cultivar Registration Authority and many more have yet to bloom. On a recent visit to Kimalia I saw at least another half-dozen seedpods close to ripening. More crosses coming. At this rate, it won't be long before he reaches his 100th vireya cross.

As for the vireya species, a section in the middle of the garden has been designated just for the species. They now number about 150 out of the 300 or so known vireya species. They are a source of cuttings for ARS members, plants for the Vireya Garden at our Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens, and seeds for the chapter's Vireya Seed Distribution program.

The Future
In June 2007 Mitch sent the following to the chapter newsletter editor:
Yesterday I received the nicest 90th birthday present...almost the entire Hawaii ARS Chapter spent the day here doing weeding, pruning and, in general, getting the place spruced up. I haven't been as agile as I once was, so this was an enormous help. I also was able to share with this group an important event in our lives: we have just signed the papers establishing the Kimalia Vireya Foundation Trust. While we are alive we are the trustees. After both of us are gone, Sherla and Richard [Sherla Bertelmann and Richard Marques] will be the successor trustees. We are both enjoying the feeling that our one-acre woodland garden will not disappear under a bulldozer and that our collection of vireyas will continue to thrive.

Here is the Preamble to the Trust agreement:
In the twilight of our lives we find ourselves discussing more and more the future of our home and garden. It really hurts when we think about new owners destroying the ohia and other trees not to mention the giant tree ferns plus other native flora and then building on the cleared land. The irony is this is entirely possible and within a short distance of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the core area of a 1984 international designation (UN) as a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. Some of the 482 Biosphere reserves worldwide have attached to them a buffer zone where concerned people are guiding human use to be least impacting. For example, our Community Association is behind the efforts to create such a buffer zone adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Our property could be considered a part of that Zone, and hopefully be one of the examples for others to follow.

In addition to preserving the forest surrounding our home we like to think that our garden will also be preserved. Not only have we planted native trees and shrubs, but interspersed them with vireya rhododendrons. These forest plants with their strikingly unusual flowers are being destroyed in some of the countries where they are native. For example, lumber interests are deforesting large areas and in that process destroying the vireyas as well. Over the past 25 years we have collected hundreds of vireya hybrids plus about 150 species (about one half of the known total). Hybrids and species are planted in the ground along paths that the natural terrain designed and which lead to spots conducive to meditation and reflection. As one might suspect our aim has been not to build a show place, but a private garden for our personal enjoyment as well as our friends. This might explain the narrowness of the paths which are ideal for several people, but certainly not large groups.

So that's the end of my story but it is only the beginning of one man's dream come true.

The Kimalia Vireya Garden trustees would appreciate your contributions very much. A special account has been opened and your check should be made out to "Kimalia Foundation Trust." If you should be interested in using it as a tax deduction please share this information with your tax advisor: The trust signed by Sandy and Mitch states that the qualification of 501C3 will not be requested from the IRS until both have died.