Life is unpredictable in the sense that one never knows what the decades ahead have in store for them. As a young man who grew up in a mountain town some 2.5 hours from Los Angeles, I was innately interested in all that was living. That interest lead to a career in marine biology where my spe-cialization was shark behavior and culmina-ted in my writing a book entitled "Sharks Of Tropical And Tem- perate Seas". Those years took me to Tahiti, an island par-adise that I fell in love with, where I met my French wife Chantal. A couple of years later we had our only child - son Kevin. I changed professions in order to be able to stay there and opened what was at that time perhaps the islands most complete nautical activity center specializing in water sports, excursions and rentals. (Left photo: Tahitian Princess (Grand Hyatt (x) Silver Memories) - Richard Johnson © 2003. 

After having lived aboard a yacht converted into a research vessel for more than half a decade, this land-based operation provided me a chance to grow things again.

My first passion was orchids, and I still have several hundred of them. Even then, dating back a quarter of a century ago, I grew hibiscus. However, it wasn't until around 1998 that I discovered the modern world of hibiscus and the myriad new varieties that I heretofore never knew existed (Upper left photo: Krystie My Darling (Georgia's Pearl (x) Rainbow Christie) - Richard Johnson © 2002). A local supplier had imported several thousand plants from Hibiscus World, and I purchased 10 including the marvelous Rosalind (Right photo: Tahitian King (Charles Schmidt (x) Georgia's Pearl) - Richard Johnson © 2002). This initiated a craze in Tahiti and hibiscus star-ted coming in from every-where including stunning varieties from the US. The price of the latter was staggering at something like $US 80.00 each. I decided I wanted a hundred or so to line a driveway, but not at that price. (left photo: Tahitian Bronze Star (Misfire (x) Silver Memories) - Richard Johnson © 2002). Via the internet, I contacted a number of US suppliers, but found the wholesale rate from the supplier (Hidden Valley Hibiscus in San Diego, who had most of the varieties I was looking for) was only available for orders of 30 or more of a kind and 10 varieties minimum. Accordingly I teamed up with a local friend in the plant business. Since he didn't communicate in English, I agreed to do so on his behalf in making orders, and in exchange I would be able to get what I wanted at the wholesale rate. I would suspect we ended up importing something is excess of 10,000 hibiscus. (Lower right photo: Tahitian Autumn Sun (Midnight Blue (x) Silver Memories - Richard Johnson © 2002). 

 

 

I remember those first arrivals, several in one year. For me it was better than Christmas and I treated each plant as a treasure. I went out each morning to find the first blooms of varieties I had only seen pictures of. By this time I had a major dose of hibiscusitis and wanted more. I rediscovered the 0z suppliers and arranged an order from Hibiscus Paradise. By the time I was out of space, I had acquired some 250 registered on "known in commerce" varieties. I was in heaven with all those daily blooms (Upper right photo: Tahitian Blushing Sun (Burnished Gold (x) Dragon's Breath - Richard Johnson © 2002).

All of this happened about the time I retired, so I had some time on my hands. Even though I had tried to pollinate hibiscus flowers some 20 years earlier, it was nothing more than a curiosity tried on several blooms. They didn't take and that was the end of that. However, with all these great varieties in my yard I decided to try again - that was January of 1999 as I recall (Left photo: Brandon B (x) Georgia's Pearl - Richard Johnson © 2002) . 

I remember my first seed pod harvest - practically broke out the cigars. This experience resulted eventually by the year's end in my having harvested some 12,000 seeds most of which I gave away. 

At first I grew only a couple of hundred seedlings and was rewarded early on with some of my best seedlings, which encouraged me to continue. This year I have grown several thousand, and although there have been a lot of duds, there are some which I'm hopeful will take their place up with a few of the greats (Left photo: Tahitian Autumn (Georgia's Pearl (x) Sunny Moon - Richard Johnson © 2002).

Very recently, I sold our old property and moved into our original home that had been rented all these years. These properties are high up on the slopes of our extinct volcano with a view in the direction of the setting sun of the fabled island of Moorea - just 10 miles away across what is known as the Sea Of The Moon. 

 

This of course this didn't happen by chance, but was the result of years of toil to reach this end. However, finally having the home of my dreams, I found myself without enough land for my new passion with hibiscus. Accordingly, we modified plans, canceled the third level of the house and built the extra rooms behind instead (this work should be nearing completion as you read this).

That left me the entire flat cement roof of the house for my plants, and I'm in the process of converting this into a roof top "sky" garden terrace. It will provide me space to grow 10 to 12 hundred seedlings yearly in 3 L containers, 1000 potential keeper seedlings for evaluation in 12 L containers and between what is left and the rest of the garden there is room for some 200 parent stock.

My sole reason for going to all the work involved in growing so many plants is that thrill each morning of seeing the world premier opening of the first bloom of a seedlings. For me it is magic, like having Christmas every day, and at this stage in life who could ask for more. I have no commercial interest, but would hope that I can spread some of my seedlings around for others to enjoy as much as I have enjoyed growing them. Maybe one day, you will have one growing in your garden.

Happy Hibiscus Growing To All
Dick Johnson, Tahiti.