Foster Botanical Garden
Encyclopedia
Foster Botanical Garden, measuring 13.5 acres (5.5 ha), is one of three botanical gardens located at 50 North Vineyard Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii
, USA
(near Chinatown
at the intersection of Nu'uanu avenue and Vineyard Boulevard). Foster is unique in that it is in a highly urban area with strip malls, schools, and both Buddhist and Methodist religious facilities nearby.
The Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Hawaii, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
leased 4.6 acres (1.9 ha) of land to William Hillebrand
, a German physician and botanist who built his home and planted trees on the site. During his stay, he introduced a number of plants to Hawaii, as well as deer and mynah birds. Many of the large trees growing today on the Upper Terrace were Hillebrand's plantings. After 20 years Hillebrand returned to Germany, where he published Flora of the Hawaiian Islands in 1888. In 1884 the property was sold to Thomas R. Foster and his wife Mary E. Foster (née Robinson), who continued to develop the garden as their homesite. Upon her death in 1930, Mary Foster bequeathed the land and her home to the City and County of Honolulu, with the provision that the city accept and forever keep and properly maintain the (gardens) as a public and tropical park to be known and called Foster Park. At the time, the gardens were roughly 5.5 acres (2 ha).
Dr. Harold Lyon, the first director of Foster Garden, introduced thousands of new plants and trees to Hawaii, and started its famous orchid collection. Paul Weissich, director from 1957 to 1989, expanded Foster Garden to 14 acres (5.7 ha) of native plants and introduced plants in the heart of bustling downtown Honolulu, and developed four additional sites on Oahu
Island to create the 650 acre (260 ha) Honolulu Botanical Gardens
system. Taken as a whole, these five gardens feature rare species from tropical environments ranging from desert to rainforest, comprising the largest and most diverse tropical plant collection in the United States.
s, aroids, heliconia
s, ginger
s); Economic Garden (herb
s, spice
s, dye
s, poison
s); Prehistoric Glen (primitive plants planted in 1965); Lyon Orchid Garden; and Hybrid Orchid Display. It also contains a number of exceptional trees, including a Sacred Fig
which is a clone descendant of the Bodhi tree
that Buddha
sat under for inspiration. All told, it contains 25 of about 100 Oahu trees designated as exceptional.
The garden also contains several memorials and sculptures:
The Garden is the inspiration for a line in Joni Mitchell
's 1970 folk song "Big Yellow Taxi
": "Took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum / Then charge people a dollar and a half just to see 'em.". As of 2005, the current admission price for visitors to Hawaii is $5.
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(near Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
at the intersection of Nu'uanu avenue and Vineyard Boulevard). Foster is unique in that it is in a highly urban area with strip malls, schools, and both Buddhist and Methodist religious facilities nearby.
The Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Hawaii, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
In 1853, Queen KalamaKalama
Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, Queen Consort of Hawaii was Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii alongside her husband, Kauikeaouli, who reigned as King Kamehameha III.-Early life:...
leased 4.6 acres (1.9 ha) of land to William Hillebrand
William Hillebrand
William Hillebrand was a German physician. He traveled the world, including over 20 years in the Hawaiian islands. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. He also became known as a botanist.-Life and career:...
, a German physician and botanist who built his home and planted trees on the site. During his stay, he introduced a number of plants to Hawaii, as well as deer and mynah birds. Many of the large trees growing today on the Upper Terrace were Hillebrand's plantings. After 20 years Hillebrand returned to Germany, where he published Flora of the Hawaiian Islands in 1888. In 1884 the property was sold to Thomas R. Foster and his wife Mary E. Foster (née Robinson), who continued to develop the garden as their homesite. Upon her death in 1930, Mary Foster bequeathed the land and her home to the City and County of Honolulu, with the provision that the city accept and forever keep and properly maintain the (gardens) as a public and tropical park to be known and called Foster Park. At the time, the gardens were roughly 5.5 acres (2 ha).
Dr. Harold Lyon, the first director of Foster Garden, introduced thousands of new plants and trees to Hawaii, and started its famous orchid collection. Paul Weissich, director from 1957 to 1989, expanded Foster Garden to 14 acres (5.7 ha) of native plants and introduced plants in the heart of bustling downtown Honolulu, and developed four additional sites on Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
Island to create the 650 acre (260 ha) Honolulu Botanical Gardens
Honolulu Botanical Gardens
The Honolulu Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens located in Honolulu County, Oahu, Hawaii, and operated under the county's auspices. The gardens are open daily except for Christmas Day and New Year's Day....
system. Taken as a whole, these five gardens feature rare species from tropical environments ranging from desert to rainforest, comprising the largest and most diverse tropical plant collection in the United States.
Foster Botanical Garden today
Today the garden consists of the Upper Terrace (the oldest part of the garden); Middle Terraces (palmArecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
s, aroids, heliconia
Heliconia
Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of about 100 to 200 species of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions...
s, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
s); Economic Garden (herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s, dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
s, poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s); Prehistoric Glen (primitive plants planted in 1965); Lyon Orchid Garden; and Hybrid Orchid Display. It also contains a number of exceptional trees, including a Sacred Fig
Sacred Fig
The Sacred Fig, Ficus religiosa, or Bo-Tree , Peepal is a species of banyan fig native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina...
which is a clone descendant of the Bodhi tree
Bodhi tree
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo , was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya , under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi...
that Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
sat under for inspiration. All told, it contains 25 of about 100 Oahu trees designated as exceptional.
The garden also contains several memorials and sculptures:
- A small replica of the DaibutsuDaibutsuor 'giant Buddha' is the Japanese term, often used informally, for large statues of Buddha. The oldest is that at Asuka-dera and the best-known those of Tōdai-ji in Nara and Kōtoku-in in Kamakura , both National Treasures.- Examples :...
of KamakuraKotoku-inis a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The temple is renowned for its , a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.- The Great Buddha :...
commemorates 100 years of Japanese immigration to Hawaii - A memorial stone on the site of the first Japanese language school on OahuOahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, where an anti-aircraft shell exploded into an auditorium full of children during the Japanese attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941... - The 1977 abstract ceramic sculpture 'Sandwich Isle' by artist Bob FlintBob FlintBob Flint , also known as Robert Flint, is an American ceramic artist. He arrived in Hawaii in 1960 for a summer of surfing and quickly realized that he wanted to stay...
- The 1974 sculpture Tree by Charles W. WatsonCharles W. WatsonCharles W. Watson , also known as Chuck Watson is an American sculptor. His son Mark Watson is also a Hawaii-based sculptor. The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu is among the public collections holding work by Charles Watson...
The Garden is the inspiration for a line in Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's 1970 folk song "Big Yellow Taxi
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written and originally performed by Joni Mitchell in 1970. It was a big hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and the UK...
": "Took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum / Then charge people a dollar and a half just to see 'em.". As of 2005, the current admission price for visitors to Hawaii is $5.