Speaking of botanical gardens, our favorite garden is actually right here in South Kona. There is a very special small garden, called the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, just up the road on the highway. If you take a right off Napoopoo (our road) and head south, you'll see a small sign on your left less than a mile south (before Choice Mart supermarket). I am a fan of botanical gardens and fell in love with this special place the first time I visited it. Unlike other gardens, its focus is native and endemic species, and it highlights how the native Hawaiians farmed their land from mauka to makai (large trees like sandalwood grown up high, taro, ti, and turmeric down low, etc.) and how they used various plants and trees (for food, medicine, dying, carving, etc.). The garden is obviously lovingly maintained and is a quiet, peaceful, beautiful place to learn and relax. I have spent many a quiet moment there, resting on the grass under a softly rustling old tree. For more information, check out their page on the Bishop Museum's website:
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/exhibits/greenwell/greenwell.html
No comments:
Post a Comment