Garden sights in Kaua'i
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National Tropical Botanical Garden
If plants aren't your thing, National Tropical Botanical Garden might inspire you to develop that green thumb. NTBG, a nonprofit working to propagate tropical and endangered species, manages five gardens (three on Kaua'i, one on Maui and one in Florida).
In Po'ipu's NTBG, don't miss the 80-acre Allerton Garden, a stunning landscape masterpiece, showcasing giant Moreton Bay fig trees (seen in Jurassic Park), an 'undulating' fountain, golden bamboo groves, pristine lagoon and valley walls blanketed with purple bougainvillea during summer. In 1870 Queen Emma, the wife of Kamehameha IV, lived in Lawa'i Valley - and her summer cottage still stands today. The garden's namesake …
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Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kaua'i from California in 1982 and began landscaping the grounds of their home. Today the Dotys are in their 80s and their retirement project is a 240-acre extravaganza of Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, all meticulously groomed.
The expansive grounds include 13 gardens, including the 'Formal Garden' where over 70 life-sized bronze statues romp in Norman Rockwell-inspired poses. A unique attraction is the Poinciana maze, where paths lead you to topiary and statues. Also on the grounds: a beach, a bird-watching marsh and a sprawling forest of around 60,000 South and East Asian hardwood trees.
The gardens are a tad contrived, as they lack the histo…
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Moir Gardens
If cacti are your fancy, Moir Gardens offers a modest oasis on the grounds of the Kiahuna Plantation condo. It's a low-key, approachable collection of mature cacti and succulents, interspersed with winding paths, a lily pond and colorful shocks of orchids.
The gardens, established in the 1930s and now part of the Kiahuna Plantation resort, were originally the estate of Hector Moir, manager of Koloa Sugar Plantation, and Alexandra 'Sandie' Knudsen Moir. The Moirs were once avid gardeners who switched from tropical flowering plants to drought-tolerant ones before it became trendy.
A sideshow rather than a showstopper, it's a sweet garden worth a stroll if you're staying near…
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Limahuli Garden
Learn to distinguish Kaua'i's flora among native, Polynesian-introduced and modern-introduced (alien) species at Limahuli Garden, part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden . Perhaps the most natural of all Kaua'i's gardens, the setting is spectacular, with Makana Mountain standing guard over plants flourishing from the copious rainfall.
At your own pace, navigate the scenic 0.75-mile loop trail. Benches here and there allow stops for rest or contemplation. From a handy free booklet, along with succinct signage, you'll learn that the stereotypical tropical fruits and flowers, eg mango, guava and plumeria, were unknown to ancient Hawaiians.
To get here, turn inland just…
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