- Joseph Reyes, 51, is the head florist at Halekulani, a hotel on the beach in Honolulu.
- Reyes' job is to book more weddings, create centerpieces, and manage other floral needs for the hotel.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Joseph Reyes, 51, the head florist at Halekulani, a hotel on the beach in Honolulu. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm Joseph Reyes. I'm 51 years old, and I've been in the floral industry for about 13 years. I was born in the Philippines but raised in Honolulu, and now I work as the head florist at Halekulani, a hotel on the beach in Honolulu.
We're responsible for all of the flowers at the on-site restaurants, banquets, weddings, and special events
I oversee everything floral at this hotel and across the street at our sister property, Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani. I'm in charge of getting revenue for the hotel by trying to book more weddings, create centerpieces, or any other sort of floral needs.
It's a group effort. My small but mighty floral team consists of four members with a combined experience of over 40 years.
Certain flowers are associated with special Hawaiian legends and folklore
One example would be the Ohia Lehua flower. The Lehua blossom is associated with Madame Pele, who is the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire and Volcanoes. This is the first plant that grows after the ground is covered with lava flow.
The story goes that Madame Pele was in love with a handsome human man, Ohia, but Ohia was instead in love with a human woman, Lehua. In her anger, she turned Ohia into a twisted tree.
But the gods felt bad when they saw how heartbroken Lehua was, so they took pity on her and turned her into a flower on the Ohia tree so that the two lovers could be joined together forever.
If you pick the blossom off of the tree, it's said that you're separating them as lovers, and it will rain — the rain is the tears of Ohia and Lehua.
It's a symbol of love and aloha to make a lei or give a lei
The lei has always been used to celebrate welcoming someone or celebrating a special event.
When you make a lei, your own good intentions are put into it. This means that it's even more special when someone makes a lei for you, as opposed to going out and buying one.
When your lei begins to wilt, you can either throw it into the ocean or return it to the land in some type of way. They say you can hang it on a tree or set it aside somewhere so that it'll go back to the Earth.
We want our guests to experience our displays when they're at their freshest
When the flowers are past their prime, we take them out of the display and collect them.
Some foliage can be dried or trimmed to create a new look in a different design, such as the bird of paradise leaf or the areca palm. If we can reuse it somewhere else, we'll do that.
We're fortunate to be here every day to check and refresh the plants. We won't take a whole arrangement away, we just remove the ones that have wilted.
If they're still good, they'll stay out there until they've passed — and then we'll return them to the land.
There are so many different types of flowers to use
I like designing with anthuriums, which are also known as the laceleaf, tailflower, or flamingo flower. The anthurium is my favorite because there are so many different shapes and colors available in just this one variety of flower, as opposed to a rose that has different colors but always the same shape.
Since many flowers and plants have a cultural or religious significance and some plants may even be endangered, my advice is to be respectful of the land and nature if you're out on a hike or exploring the island.
If you see a beautiful blossom or an interesting plant, leave it there for the next visitor to enjoy. The only thing you should take is a photo.