GARDEN TOUR-Foster Botanical Garden, Honolulu!

The Foster Botanical Garden is a 14-acre garden in Downtown Honolulu. It is the oldest botanical garden in Hawaii, dating back to 1853 when Queen Kalama (wife of King Kamehameha III-longest reigning monarch of Hawaii) leased 4-5 acres of the land to German physician and botanist Dr. William Hillebrand. He introduced new plant species from his travels to Asia and East Indies. Some of these plants were camphor, kapok, earpod, kauri, cinnamon, Mandarin oranges, lychee, jack fruit and banyans. He later returned to Germany after 20 years and published "Flora of the Hawaiian Islands", 1888.
The property was sold to Mary Mikahala Robinson Foster in 1884 and donated it upon her death to the City and County of Honolulu in 1930 for the public to enjoy. The property expanded to 14 acres and more plants were introduced, including the orchid collection in the conservatory.
One of the unique trees shown in the video is the Sausage Tree from Africa, with its dangling fruits weighing up to 20 lbs. These fruits are eaten by giraffes and baboons.
Another curious tree is the Cannonball Tree, native from South America. It has vines and blossoms growing on its trunk. The fruits, like cannonballs, are also heavy.
Other trees (which I haven't shown) are the Bo tree, a cutting of which was given by a Buddhist monk to Mrs. Foster in 1913. The tree is a descendant of the famous Sri Lankan tree dating to 288 B.C., from which Buddha was enlightened. Mrs. Foster became a passionate Buddhist believer.
There are some tall giants in the park like the Kapok tree planted in the 1850's, the Boabab tree, Chicle tree and the Tropical Almond tree.
I always enjoy seeing the orchids and going into the conservatory. (I missed the famous corpse plant which was probably not in bloom at the time.)
Click here for more information:
www.tclf.org/l...
I hope you'll enjoy a stroll through this garden! Subscribe for more!
Aloha,
Susan
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