Christmas tree on Kauaʻi made of tropical plants to benefit St. Theresa School

The lush island of Kaua‘i is nicknamed the “Garden Isle” with good reason: Countless plant species blanket its mountain slopes and shorelines.

But arguably no flora on Kaua‘i, known for its balmy climate, quite resembles the wintry Christmas tree of popular imagination.

Small business owners Mona Garcia and Rachel Rollins recently led an effort to display the best of both worlds through a project benefitting a local school.

With collaborators, they constructed an approximately 10-foot-tall tree made with wooden crates containing 130 specimens of at least 12 tropical plant species, including assorted ferns and succulents, anthurium, pink quill and pothos.

“I love that we get to create a little bit of that magic that brings people joy and happiness,” said Rollins, owner of Rachel Whitney Weddings.

Rollins and fellow wedding planner Mona Garcia, of Aloha Fridays, partnered with local vendors Sunrise Blooms, Milianani Kaua‘i and Blaze Entertainment to create the tree that can be seen near the concierge desk at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay.

The hotel’s seasonal program also includes discounted room rates, special menus and a nightly menorah lighting during Hanukkah.

When the festive season draws to a close, the tree will be dismantled, and its crates and 130 plants will be donated to St. Theresa School in Kekaha.

The westernmost Catholic school in the United States will use the crates in its classrooms; and the plants will be sold to raise funds for the school’s annual spring carnival.

Christmas trees traditionally belong to the conifer family. On Kaua‘i, at least two conifers may be found: The impressive Araucaria columnaris and Araucaria heterophylla.

These prehistoric titans, native to the South Pacific, are known to many as Cook pine and Norfolk Island pine. While lacking dense branch coverage, they are celebrated by some as distinctively Hawai‘i Christmas trees.

Yet neither plant is a true pine: They belong to Araucariaceae, a family that includes the monkey-puzzle tree.

Rollins and Garcia, although wedding planners, were first approached by an island property to provide Christmas décor four years ago.

Garcia, who lives in Kekaha, thinks of her children when dreaming up holiday designs: She wants to capture “what our kids see on Christmas morning.”

“That’s the experience we wanted to give people,” Garcia said. “That wow factor … That feeling of home.”