Page 7 - MidWeek Windward - May 12, 2021

Kāne‘ohe Woman’s Business Began As Horticultural Therapy
MAY 12, 2021 7
BY LIANNE BIDAL THOMPSON
“They got bigger and big- ger. Then I started painting my pots.”
Since childhood, Christi Morishige admired her grand- mother’s green thumb.
The pots are painted in a rainbow of hues, some in the shape of cars, animals and even espresso cups.
“She could grow anything,” Morishige says, lamenting that she lacked gardening skills.
She started with a few craft fairs and people took no- tice. She has a locker at Ben Franklin Crafts Māpunapuna, where people can purchase her plants. Many also find her on Instagram and Facebook (@sentimentsandsucculents).
Fast-forward to 2015, and Morishige, owner of Senti- ments and Succulents, had just returned from a trip to Ja- pan. “Something was wrong,” she explains. She sought med- ical help.
her job at TheBus, after 25 years of service.
“I like the ones that, to me, they’re so ugly, they’re cute.”
“They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I was diagnosed with systemat- ic lupus.”
“I’m home, this will be my therapy,” she recalls.
Unfortunately, this was just a partial diagnosis and she would eventually retire from
Morishige researched how to care for the plants, learned about different types of succu- lents and how to troubleshoot any problems.
She gravitates to the curi- ous-looking plants, like one called Baby Toes.
“I turned my therapy into a fun business. I feel my grand- ma watching over me ... now she’s smiling,” she says.
Christi Morishige (Above left) turned her therapy of caring for succulents into a successful business. PHOTOS COURTESY CHRISTI MORISHIGE
One day, her son gave her a succulent. Morishige came up with a plan.
Morishige enjoys finding different succulents. She says that Donkey Tails are popular. “They’re supposed to be good luck, so I try to put it in every arrangement,” she says.
With things opening up again — she’ll be at New Baby Fair at Ka Makana Ali‘i May 14-15, and Ma‘ema‘e Elementary’s virtual fair the following week — Morishige is hopeful.
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