Photos of Flowers taken on the Island of Kauai
Right outside the visitor center in the gardens. this is where you wait for the tram.
from the tram you can view the incredible bouganvilleas growing on the side of the hill
beginning of the 1.5 hour walk
Do you know the name of this flower?
Fantastic Torch Ginger
Red Ginger about to bloom Yellow Flower
Shell Ginger
The Garden Caretaker's home has a view of the ocean from the porch and has ultimate seculsion, except for the tours. Sign me up for this job!
little guy in the gardens
another little guy- we also saw a rooster in a tree here, yes a rooster. He worked his way up fallen brush to get to tree branch above everyone so he could make some noise.
ocean view from Allerton Gardens
Adenium
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Kauai, Hawaii is considered a tropical sub tropical area of the country . Their growing season is almost year round March-December.
USDA Gardening Zone 11
Photos on this page were taken in the month of April at the Allerton Botanical Gardens in Kauai. The only way to see this garden is take a 2.5 hour walking guided tour of the gardens. Reservations are required. "Nani Mala" is Hawaiian for Beautiful Gardens and that is exactly what this place is.
Our guide at the Allerton Gardens was the best tour guide we have ever had at any garden. He really knew his stuff and I think he really enjoyed his job. and hey who can blame him, this place is paradise!
If you want a botanist point of the view of the island this is a wonderful place to start. Honestly this wasn't quite what I expected, but it was a great experience. It was a highly educational tour on botany. We took the Allerton tour as it is said to be the "best" of the tours.
The botanical garden grounds were beautiful to walk around. You will have a little time if you get there early to do so. Then you take a tram for aprox 30 min to the Allerton portion of the gardens where you will walk for aprox. an 1.5 hours, so bring some comfortable walking shoes.
yummy bananas hanging off the tree
Pineapple, takes two years from the time it is put in the ground to produce a fruit (that's what I was told) Pretty Cool-These are fantastic at the Farmer's Market in Kauai, nothing like at the stores in other states.
The paths are all dirt and an easy walk. None of the plants are labeled as is common in most botanical gardens, but the guide is very experienced in botany and has lived on the island for over 30 years. He was fascinating to listen to and a volunteer at that.
Allerton gardens is composed of 67 acres (you will not see all of it on the tour) it was purchased in the late 1930's by Robert Allerton who created the gardens with the help of his partner. They transformed this red dirt land into a luscious garden. Most of the plants found here were imported from other countries.
We learned about the Noni plant which is said to have health benefits(pictured below)
Giant Chocolate bean pod
Beautiful river that flows into the ocean, you will cross the river on a small bridge and on the other side of the bridge is the Lotus flower.
There was only one Lotus flower blooming when we were there, and it was hard to get a photo of. The Lotus is a cool flower for one because I cannot grow this in Phoenix, but just the way it grows is interesting. The lotus flower starts as a small flower down at the bottom of a pond, it grows slowly towards the water surface and once it comes to the surface it begins to blossom and turn into a beautiful flower.
Very rare and not possible to see up close at the garden. Red Jade Vine is stunning in person.
Of course you get to see the famous Ficus tree in the movie Jurassic Park movie. There are actually several of these trees planted in a a row. They were brought here in the 1950's, we were told, in small pots. You could hold them in your hand. Think about that when you look up at them and see their massive root system. It is really incredible.
The tree closests in the photo was the tree the kids in the movie sat in and when it rained it was actually during a real hurricane taking place in Kauai that they shot part of the movie through. Yes that is a cat on the far left, he was taking a nap in the shade.
There are tons of Hibiscus (the white ones are the only ones native to Hawaii), Tulip trees, Plumeria, Spider Lilies, Red Jade (rare),Ginger, Coconut Trees, Guava Trees, Chocolate tree,Orchids, Lotus, a bamboo forest, and lots of Bromeliads. Fantastic Gardens.
If you would like to visit Allerton Botanical Gardens
Address: 3530 Papalina Road Kalaheo, Kauai, HI 96741
Hours: Reservations are Required for the Allerton Gardens
(808) 332-7324
Admission: Adults around $30
Please check their website for the most up to date information
Website: Allerton Botanical Garden
You may also be interested in viewing photos from other botanical gardens in the US
The photos of public gardens are posted in low resolution to lessen page loading time. These photos were taken by us and are copyrighted photos, if you would like to use these for your personal use, blog or a non commercial website, all we ask is that you please give credit and link back to our website: www.phxgardening.com
Thank you and Happy Gardening! |
