Garland made from tips of leafy evergreen initially (3)
I believe the answer is:
lei
'garland' is the definition.
(a lei is a garland of flowers)
'tips of leafy evergreen initially' is the wordplay.
'tips of' indicates taking the first letters (I've seen 'tip of' mean this).
The initial letters of 'leafy evergreen initially' is 'LEI'.
'made from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for lei that I've seen before include "Blooming string" , "Hawaiian necklace of flowers" , "Hawaiin flower garland" , "Garland of flowers, may accompany 5 Down" , "Bloomers on line" .)