Sadie Seymour Botanical Gardens
Encyclopedia
The Sadie Seymour Botanical Gardens (1.5 acres) are nonprofit botanical garden
s located on the grounds of the Kona Outdoor Circle Educational Center at 76-6280 Kuakini Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii island
, Hawaii
. Coordinates are 19°36′49.5"N 155°58′6"W. They are open daily; admission is free, but donations accepted.
Sadie Seymour (1907–1975) founded the outdoor circle to beautify the Kona
community. The gardens were designed by landscape architect
Scott Seymour on a wedge-shaped plot, and named in honor of his mother. They feature the cultivated plants of Hawaii, arranged in 11 tiers by geographic origin. The first tier contains native Hawaiian plants. Other tiers include Australia
, New Zealand
, and Indonesia
(featuring plants such as cuphea
, eucalyptus
, and ixora
); Indo-Asia (lemon grass, and cinnamon
, turmeric
, and clove
trees); Africa
(Bismarckia
nobilis); and Central America
(calabash
).
The educational center also includes a horticultural library. Tropical gardening classes and other events are held in the center.
The grounds also contain an archaeological site called a Heiau
, Kealakowaa Heiau ("temple on the way for dragging canoes" in the Hawaiian Language
). This ritual site, built in the time of King Umi a Liloa
, was used for construction and blessing of canoes. It can be viewed from the Outdoor Circle's Educational Center. The site contains a ceremonial platform, an astrological temple, the foundation of a priest's house, and the foundation of a meeting house. The sacred site is positioned along an ancient trail (Holua Loa means "long slide") that led from the upland Koa
forests on Hualālai
down to the royal complex at Holualoa Bay
. After a tree was selected in the forest, the log was roughly hewn into the shape of a canoe and dragged down to this area for blessing ceremonies. From here it went down the slide to the water for completion and launching.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
s located on the grounds of the Kona Outdoor Circle Educational Center at 76-6280 Kuakini Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
, Hawaii
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...
. Coordinates are 19°36′49.5"N 155°58′6"W. They are open daily; admission is free, but donations accepted.
Sadie Seymour (1907–1975) founded the outdoor circle to beautify the Kona
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
community. The gardens were designed by landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Scott Seymour on a wedge-shaped plot, and named in honor of his mother. They feature the cultivated plants of Hawaii, arranged in 11 tiers by geographic origin. The first tier contains native Hawaiian plants. Other tiers include Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
(featuring plants such as cuphea
Cuphea
Cuphea is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbs to semi-woody shrubs up to 2 m tall. Commonly they are known as cupheas, or, in the case of some species,...
, eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, and ixora
Ixora
Ixora is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 500 species. Though native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, its centre of diversity is in Tropical Asia. Ixora also grows commonly in...
); Indo-Asia (lemon grass, and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
, and clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
trees); Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(Bismarckia
Bismarckia
Bismarckia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family endemic to western and northern Madagascar where they grow in open grassland. The genus is named for the first chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck and the epithet for its only species, Bismarckia nobilis, comes...
nobilis); and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
(calabash
Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...
).
The educational center also includes a horticultural library. Tropical gardening classes and other events are held in the center.
The grounds also contain an archaeological site called a Heiau
Heiau
A heiau is a Hawaiian temple. Many types of heiau existed, including heiau to treat the sick , offer first fruits, offer first catch, start rain, stop rain, increase the population, ensure health of the nation, achieve success in distant voyaging, reach peace, and achieve success in war . Only the...
, Kealakowaa Heiau ("temple on the way for dragging canoes" in the Hawaiian Language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
). This ritual site, built in the time of King Umi a Liloa
'Umi-a-Liloa
Umi-a-Liloa ruled as the 14th Alii Aimoku of Hawaii island from 1510 to 1525.-Royal Birth:Umi-a-Liloa, commonly known as Umi, was younger son of Liloa, 12th Alii Aimoku of Hawaii. Umi's mother Akahiakuleana was of much lower rank and distantly related to Liloa...
, was used for construction and blessing of canoes. It can be viewed from the Outdoor Circle's Educational Center. The site contains a ceremonial platform, an astrological temple, the foundation of a priest's house, and the foundation of a meeting house. The sacred site is positioned along an ancient trail (Holua Loa means "long slide") that led from the upland Koa
Koa
Acacia koa is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations are on Hawaii, Maui and Oahu...
forests on Hualālai
Hualalai
Hualālai is a dormant shield volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the third-youngest and the third most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, following Kīlauea and the much larger Mauna Loa, and also the westernmost. Its peak is above sea...
down to the royal complex at Holualoa Bay
Holualoa Bay
Hōlualoa Bay is a historic area between Kailua-Kona and Keauhou Bay in the Kona District of the Big Island of Hawaii. The community now called Hōlualoa is uphill from this bay....
. After a tree was selected in the forest, the log was roughly hewn into the shape of a canoe and dragged down to this area for blessing ceremonies. From here it went down the slide to the water for completion and launching.