Garden sights in O'ahu
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A
Lyon Arboretum
Nature trails and a Hawaiian ethnobotanical garden.
reviewed
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B
Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden
A lush and lovely vantage point for admiring the land and sea of the Windward Coast, Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden occupies a 400-acre corner at the foot of the Ko'oalu Range. It is planted with trees and shrubs from the world's tropical regions and was originally designed by the US Army Corps of Engineers as flood protection for the valley.
This peaceful natural preserve is networked by trails winding through the green park up to a 32-acre lake (no swimming). A small visitor center features displays on the park's history, flora and fauna, and Hawaiian ethnobotany. Guided two-hour nature hikes are offered at 10:00 Saturday and 13:00 Sunday.
The park is at the end of Luluku…
reviewed
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Waimea Valley Audubon Center
Across from Waimea Bay Beach Park, this elegant center (a botanical garden by any other name) has more than 5000 species. There are sections of ginger, hibiscus, heliconia, native food plants and medicinal species, including many that are endangered. Waimea sits at the end of the main path through the garden, 0.8 miles from the entrance. The park has centuries-old stone platforms and terraces and replicas of early thatched buildings.
Bus 52 stops on the highway in front on the center, from where it's nearly a half-mile walk inland to the entrance. (From Hale'iwa town, you can catch the bus to the Audubon Center from the bus stop opposite Bank of Hawaii on Kamehameha…
reviewed
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C
Haiku Gardens
A more meditative place is hard to imagine than Haiku Gardens, a little valley containing a lily pond, an abundance of fragrant tropical flowers and lots of birdsong. The gardens, cradled by the Ko'olau Range, are picture perfect. The path starts at the side of Hale'iwa Joe's restaurant and takes only about 15 minutes down and back.
To get there from Kamehameha Hwy, turn west on Haiku Rd just past the Windward Mall; after crossing Kahekili Hwy, continue on Haiku Rd for a quarter of a mile. Haiku Gardens is on the right.
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D
Koko Crater
One of the tallest and best-preserved tuff cones, Koko Crater now supports a small county botanical garden planted with plumeria, oleander and cacti and other dryland species. According to Hawaiian legend, Koko Crater is the imprint left by the vagina of Pele's sister Kapo, which was sent here from the Big Island to lure the pig-god Kamapua'a away from Pele (the volcano goddess).
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E
Foster Botanical Garden
For a bizarro-tropical escape, visit Chinatown's overwhelming Foster Botanical Garden.
reviewed