Tom and Rosamond Miller enjoy spending most of their time at home in their enclosed lanai, a veritable greenhouse filled with potted plants and an eclectic collection of knickknacks.
It’s a place full of memories.
The plants were originally brought in for their daughter’s wedding and have remained on the lanai, where the ceremony was held. Amid the greenery sits an antique camel saddle beneath a colorful blanket from Cairo.
Tom Miller picked up the saddle during a trip there in 2000. It’s a favorite seat for the couple’s two grandchildren, both 8, when they come to visit.
The comfortable clutter represents the Millers’ travels around the world. Their collection of souvenirs extends to the sprawling garden on the quarter-acre property in Aiea Heights where they’ve lived for 25 years. Large, antique pots from Southeast Asia make striking centerpieces on the green lawn, filled with delicate water lilies and lotus flowers.
"Roz and I have together traveled extensively there, and I spend much of the summer every year, particularly out in rural Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Laos," said Tom Miller, 74. "We have had the opportunity to experience a number of beautiful gardens."
The former Navy captain and retired ‘Iolani School history teacher is a collector at heart, having acquired his first piece, a Native American arrowhead, at the age of 9 in Kentucky. His wife, who supports his passion for collecting, says she’s learned to live with it "because I love him."
They’ve been married for 44 years.
Their garden also is filled with collections of tropical rhododendrons, which Tom Miller said he enjoys because of their many variations, along with ti plants and bromeliads.
For Rosamond Miller, 71, a pink plumeria tree in the backyard, visible from her bedroom window, is a favorite. She nicknamed the tree "The Old Lady." Its branches are laden with epiphytes (air plants) and adorned with grafted orchids.
In the front courtyard, a collection of pitcher plants, or carnivorous plants with cuplike leaves that consume insects, hang from the branches of a strawberry guava tree. All the plants were selected with the help of horticulturalist David Yearian.
Another characteristic of Southeast Asian gardens the Millers fell in love with is water features.
In front of a covered, outdoor living room, built as a separate structure on the side of their yard, they installed a small waterfall and narrow pond filled with goldfish and taro plants. The waterfall makes a relaxing, babbling sound.
"I like to come out here and feed the fish," said Tom Miller.
The outdoor living room, ideal for entertaining, is furnished with comfy chairs, wall masks from Papua New Guinea, a corner fireplace and a bar made from a refurbished 16th-century wooden door from Spain.
Other botanical treasures include fragrant pakalana, green and red jade vines, and a newly planted camellia japonica "Guilio Nuccio" with deep rose-pink flowers. A Pride of Burma tree by the front driveway greets visitors with beautiful crimson flowers when in bloom.
Throughout the garden are unique accents from their travels — stone pieces, sculptures, bird cages, lanterns and Thai spirit houses.
"We seached for special plants that have color and fragrance throughout the year," said Tom Miller. "The goal was to create an oasis of privacy, quietness and serenity."
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