Gardens of Hawaii
My husband is an Ironman, and he is pretty good at it, which has its perks. A consolation prize for being an Ironman widow has been my travels to Hawaii’s Big Island twice in the last two years, home to the Ironman World Championships. It turns out Hawaii is an amazing destination for those of us who love a variety of landscapes. It is a magical, powerful and immensely spiritual place to visit. Hawai’i also called The Big Island, remarkably is home to 11 of the world's 13 climatic zones. The landscapes range from lava deserts, fertile farmland, lush jungles, cool mountains, warm beaches, and the occasional erupting volcano. Like a lot of places, Hawai’i is being loved to death. Development and tourism have placed many environmental strains on the Islands, one of which is the destruction of habitat through land clearing. I was able to find two significant conservation projects, one on the east and one on the west coast, both originally passion projects by the landowners and both accessible to the public.
North of the town of Hilo I found the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, a tropical rainforest and home to a couple of thousand different varieties of lush, beautiful plants collected from jungles around the world. The garden is spread over 17 acres in a valley that is fertile and protected from strong winds. Paths lead through the garden revealing a beautiful array of tropical flora and foliage, waterfalls, brooks and eventually opening to well framed views to the rugged coastline.
I was in garden nivana, after all I am the self-professed queen of (sub)tropical . During the initial steep descent into the valley, I couldn’t help but imagine the hard labour that went into its creation. The land was purchased in 1977 by Dan & Pauline Lutkenhouse, who decided to conserve this pocket of land rather than develop it. Dan with the help of a few assistants, created the garden by hand, with no machinery being used so to prevent soil compaction. The garden was opened in 1984 to the public and entrusted to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden in 1995 for conservation as a sanctuary which has been used for education and scientific research for tropical plants and rainforests.
In the words of Dan Lutkenhouse "It's too precious a valley to be developed. We're preserving the valley so that mankind can enjoy it forever. I believe that we should all try to leave the world a better place than we found it." Initially a labour of love to protect the natural beauty of the valley Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse’s foresight has left a magnificent legacy that has developed into a thriving world-class tropical botanical garden. With deforestation, rainforest plants are disappearing, HTBG is working to preserve as many species as possible for the future of tropical plants. It is one of the most incredible gardens I have had the pleasure to visit. While 17 acres is a huge expanse and 2000 plants an enormous collection, it was built on a human scale, it meanders, reveals and surprises at every lush and flourishing turn
Closer to our home base on the west side of the island, at an elevation of 3000 feet can be found the privately owned 70 acre Kona Cloud Forest, on the slopes of Hualalai Volcano. I had the pleasure of a private tour with Kelly Dunn, the CEO and President of Painted Trees of Hawaii and the Kona Cloud Forest. We enthusiastically walked around chatting, laughing, and crying; actually only I cried. I was overwhelmed by either the beauty or maybe it was the fresh air. The air was crisp and clear like something I have rarely experienced. Kelley said it was thanks to the beautiful work of the rainforest. I arrived in bright blue skies and scoffed at the name “cloud forest” but as promised, over the morning the clouds built and on cue at about noon as I left, we were caught in a downpour.
Fifty years ago twenty percent of all woodlands on Earth were considered cloud forests. Today cloud forests represent less than one percent. Amazingly, the Kona cloud forest has been planted on reclaimed ranch land. There are only trace amounts of soil covering the lava. It is a pan tropical forest that relies on its nutrients from fallen leaf litter and vegetation. I felt right at home, I was walking through the forest clambering over huge aerial tree roots of Morton bay figs Ficus Microphylla and Blue marble trees Elaeocarpus angustifolius, there was a great variety of bamboos and palms, and even the old-fashioned begonia made an appearance. Thanks to Kelley’s infinite knowledge, I looked a little harder and found a wonderful collection of native Hawaiian species, some of which are rare and endangered. He pointed out the legendary Ohia tree Metrosideros polymorpha, Acacia Koa which was used to build Ancient Hawaiian surfboards, The beautiful Loulu palm and Hapuu tree fern Cibotium menziesii which was harvested for food in times of famine. It was actually considered the food of death, so maybe not so tasty.
Norman Bezona, a horticulturist purchased the former ranch land in the 1970’s and set about changing the microclimate of that area. He originally planted fast growing pines to shade out the grass, which also allowed for dormant native vegetation to remerge. With the help of his children and volunteers Norman began to plant a variety of native and non-native plants. The results are truly mind boggling. I had my eyes peeled for fairies and elves and I’m not the only one. Although I won’t divulge details for preservation sake, Hollywood has discovered its magic and captured its beauty for the whole world to enjoy. Perhaps you have caught glimpses of this of this beautiful forest before.
Born of the elements, myth and culture, Hawai’i is a place of diversity. From the rugged beauty of lava deserts to its lush tropical vegetation, Hawaiians have a deep connection to their land. There is an expression Aloha ʻāina which simply stated means love for and respect of the land that nourishes you. A sense of being connected to all things is evident in the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens and the Kona Cloud Forest. It was wonderful to see these long-term conservation projects half a century after their initial conception. Some may question “is it truly conservation with so many introduced species being used?” I say a big yes, after having had the privilege of visiting, I am in awe of the vision and foresight of two individuals in conserving, revegetating and creating these significant landscapes. It is a remarkable legacy and beautiful gift to the environment and nature at large to have access to these collections of tropical forest plants and the opportunity for them to act as examples for future reforestation efforts around the world.
