Gardens

Notable gardens in Honolulu include Foster Botanical Gardens near Chinatown in the heart of Honolulu. I recommend a lunch at Duc's Bistro on Maunakea street in Chinatown followed by a stroll to the garden to view the sandalwood tree. Those interested in a wetter more jungly experience should visit the Lyon Arboretum up in the mountains or Koolaus. On the other side of the island, a brief drive will take you to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. Visitors should bring a good insect repellent with them since this garden is wet and can be quite buggy. On the other Islands the gardens of the National Tropical Botanical Garden are a world class experience. The Allerton Garden on Kauai will be familiar from a number of movies. Limahuli on the North Shore of Kauai retains important and interesting archaeological examples of traditional Hawaiian terrace farming. Kahanu Garden near Hana on Maui is the site of the Pi'ilanihale Heiau, the largest temple platform in the Hawaiian Islands and a spectacular garden. On the Big Island the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden features plants used by Hawaiians for food, material culture and medicine. Owned by the Bishop Museum, the garden also has important archaeological remnants of Hawaiian agricultural practices. Finally, for lovers of Kona coffee the Kona Historical Society maintains a seven acre working coffee farm owned by the Uchida family which is maintained as a museum dedicated to pioneer coffee growers in the area. In Waipahu near Pearl Harbor you can visit the Hawaii's Plantation Village which tells the story of the immigrant workers experience on the Hawaiian sugar plantations in the early part of the 20^th century.

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