We’ve been making a pleasant habit of visiting botanical gardens in Hawaii. So on our recent visit to Kauai, we planned a visit to Allerton Gardens in the Lawai Valley in Poipu.
Allerton Gardens are managed by the National Tropical Botanical Garden. From their website, they describe the heritage of Allerton as “a garden paradise, transformed through time by the hands of a Hawaiian Queen [Queen Emma], by a sugar plantation magnate, and most significantly by an artist and an architect.” Robert Allerton was the artist and his adopted son, John Gregg Allerton, was the architect. Together, their combined talents designed a unique garden concept of outdoor rooms.
A guided-tour leads visitors through garden rooms while explaining the room design, significance to the Allertons, and the types of plants and trees that were chosen. The guided tour includes a 10 to 15-minute tram ride to and from the visitors center to the Lawai Valley and Allerton Garden. The views along the way are truly fantastic and almost worth the visit alone.
In addition to the excellent Lawai Valley views and exploring the garden rooms nestled by the peaceful Lawai Stream, we also enjoyed seeing Queen Emma’s colorful wall of bougainvillea planted by Queen Emma herself.. She retreated to Lawai to morn the loss of her husband and her son.
What to know before you go:
Mahalo to Catherine Pope for sharing this Aloha Friday Photo. Catherine took this pretty photo…
We've sampled all of Oahu's tasty onolicious treats and here are our food picks every…
This week's featured Hawaii visitor photo shows a beautiful pastel sunset with palm trees.
We've "tasted" our way around the island of Kauai to identify all the best foods…
Mahalo to Megan Donnelly-Morris for sharing this beautiful Aloha Friday Photo. Megan took this photo…
Mahalo to Victoria Weissnicht from Austria for sharing this unique shot for Aloha Friday Photos.…
View Comments
Which gardens do you recommend on Oahu?
Gajen - to be honest, I've not visited any of the botanical gardens on Oahu. But, a couple of readers who live on Oahu highly recommend Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe. Here's their website: http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/hbg/hmbg.htm#visitor I'm hoping to visit it myself this coming October.
There are 5 botanical gardens in total offered by Honolulu government - here's the list of all five http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/hbg/index1.htm