Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Foster Botanical Garden

Click on photos to enlarge!

Saturday is a happy word. Sunday is rich burnished mahogany. . .

On Sunday, my favorite husband and I found ourselves at the 13.5 acre Foster Botanical Garden adjacent to downtown Honolulu. This eldest of Honolulu's five public botanical gardens is notably the site of ancient "Kou," the Hawaiian village that predates our Honolulu Town. In 1853, Queen Kalama granted a royal lease for this land to German physician and botanist, William Hillebrand. The doctor and his wife lived in the house that they built here, and they planted the splendid tall trees which hold court above today's "main terrace," notably the incredibly TALL Royal Palm in the top photo. My picture fails by far to convey the height of this amazing specimen. It is one of several individuals on the property designated "Exceptional Trees" by ordinance. The Hillebrands remained in the islands for some twenty years. Upon returning to Germany, the doctor published the well regarded Flora of the Hawaiian Islands (1888). Next, sea captain Thomas Foster and his wife Mary developed the property further. Their gardens were bequeathed to the City upon Mary's death in 1930, and they opened to the public on November 30, 1931. The first legendary director of the public gardens, Dr. Harold Lyon, personally introduced 10,000 new species of plants and trees to our Hawaii. It was his own orchid menagerie that formed the core of today's collection. This grand symphony of tropical greenery (including some rare and endangered examples) took over 140 years to create. It is entered on the National Register of Historic Places. You can learn more about Foster Botanical Garden at: www.honolulu.gov/parks/hbg





YES we can!









"There is only one purpose for the accumulation of great wealth and that is to do great good." Andrew Carnegie





This resembles the Seed Lei that Hawiians create. A lei of pearls, what we'd call a pearl necklace, is in Hawaiian, a Lei Momi.


"Luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity."
Coco Chanel
























Pink Orchid












This fellow sat patiently for his portrait!






Tropical light shining through a living and dead lantern.














Happy Nuts!









This is a Cannon Ball tree, Couroupita guianensis, native to Guiana. Signs warn visitors to STAND BACK. The "cannon balls" (cousins to the Brazil Nut) are heavy!















Tranquility Shared. . .
A L O H A! Cloudia











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19 comments:

  1. the walking manFebruary 10, 2009 at 4:15 AM

    Cloudia you have a relaxed and easy air about you that is well imparted here.

    Peace

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2009 at 4:32 AM

    It's been years since I visited Foster Garden. I really should take another trip there. Lyon Arboretum in Manoa Valley is another one to see.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2009 at 4:55 AM

    Aaawww, the cute little gecko. Are those kakui (sp?) nuts smiling in their shells? The cannonball tree is unique! Is the "ammunition" used as a nut or fruit?
    Aloha, DrumMajor

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  4. SandyCarlsonFebruary 10, 2009 at 5:17 AM

    The giant tree and the loving Buddha frame some amazing botanical shots. What a place.

    We are really fortunate to inherit so many beautiful parks and preserves. Thank goodness so many folks were thinking ahead all that time ago. Perhaps they knew our human tendency to self-indulgence would rob us of these treasures otherwise.

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  5. Dave KingFebruary 10, 2009 at 6:00 AM

    I would have given a King's ransom for some of those pics to illustrate my post. Wonderful!

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  6. Reader WilFebruary 10, 2009 at 7:27 AM

    Like you Cloudia, I love botanical gardens. This one is very interesting. Thank you for sharing. The Hawaiian people look like the Maoris in New Zealand. I believe that the Maoris came originally from Polynesia. Could you tell me more about it?

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  7. JLeeFebruary 10, 2009 at 8:45 AM

    Wow, these pictures are so beautiful and inviting! I wish I was there! lol

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  8. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2009 at 10:32 AM

    That was quite a tour - so many species I can't even guess what they might be! Love the Chanel quote too!!

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  9. Charles GramlichFebruary 10, 2009 at 1:50 PM

    So cool. I love nature photos. And these are especially interesting because I'm not familiar with many of these plants and growths. Love the Cannonball tree.

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  10. AkelamaluFebruary 10, 2009 at 2:24 PM

    I thought those two little nuts were animals at first! Vibrant photos as always Cloudia, thankyou for sharing them. :)

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  11. DarylFebruary 10, 2009 at 3:44 PM

    I am wishing I was there ...

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  12. HeidelweissFebruary 10, 2009 at 4:30 PM

    Beautiful pictures. I've never seen one of those cannon ball trees (lucky for me since I wouldn't have known what it was and would likely have been knocked out). ;).

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  13. laughingwolfFebruary 10, 2009 at 9:23 PM

    magnificent as always, cloudia :D

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  14. CloudiaFebruary 10, 2009 at 10:41 PM

    Thank you ALL for gift of your visits! Aloha-

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  15. magiceyeFebruary 10, 2009 at 11:43 PM

    incredibly wonderful captures!

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  16. sealauraFebruary 11, 2009 at 7:59 PM

    Love the nature shots! very cool. The Chinese New year up above looks lie fun. I love being able to capture unexpected events. I have a little something from your neck of the woods today on my little blog.

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  17. nonizamboniFebruary 12, 2009 at 8:35 AM

    Thanks for the tour, the happy nuts, the gecko and the 'luxury.' Oh, and the history of the garden. I will be back to just wander through this post again. You made my day!

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  18. Barbara MartinFebruary 12, 2009 at 11:47 PM

    The history and green of the garden were wonderful: best photo for me was #5, a path into a magical place. I ready for that now. Thanks, Cloudia.

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  19. JunosmomFebruary 14, 2009 at 3:53 PM

    I like that cannonball tree. Very interesting. We've had trees dropping things on people lately, too, left over limbs from recent storms.

    ReplyDelete

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