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On Mother's Day we took a little trip to the World Botanical Gardens in Umauma. Won't do that again.
Their charges were very steep and I found myself walking their trails with an urge to pull weeds and rake. Once in a while I came accross an interesting plant. Saw lots and lots of overgorwn ti plants and slopes of junk fern. I guess if I was from the deserts of Utah it might have been impressive.
The Onomea gardens on the 4-mile sceanic loop above Hilo are awesome. If you want to see the wonders of the tropical plant world that is the place to go.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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I could have warned you about the WBG, Rob. They have had lots of problems over the years, and there was even a bitter lawsuit going on at one point between the former and current administrative directors. Sadly, they have never met their potential. Do they still make you listen to their "buy a lifetime membership" spiel? That was very annoying, but at least they served us a drink while we had to listen to it. Yuck.
Cheers,
Jerry
Edited by - JerryCarr on 05/16/2007 06:04:16
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Is that the place where Umauma falls is? I've been to the falls a couple of times without paying. It's not that impressive. I remember there was a plaque that claimed it was "discovered" in the 1992 by some haole which is completely bogus. The last time I was there, the plaque was gone. I think the county made them remove it because it was an insult to the generations of Hawaiians and immigrant plantation workers who knew about the falls from long ago.
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Yes, the World BG are a disappointment. We found that out when we took a (good humored) guest there last year.
Not to be confused with the Tropical BG, though, which are great!
Robin
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In 1990 or 1991 we took our step son on a Hawaiian Cruise for his high school graduation! He loved the Cruise around all the islands and really fit in well with the Youth Director and staff. Needless to say we saw him at dinners only and hoped and prayed he returned to ship each night as it set sail to new islands.
While on the big island Bob and Brian took the helicopter flight over the Kilauea Volcano and lava flows to see the school bus surrounded by lava. It was their highlight! Me I took the Cruise line bus to this same garden. I had a wonderful time but the price if I recall correctly was $7.50! It was worth the price was a nice walk thru all the paths, but the variety was not what one would expect if you have visited many botanical gardens.
Last year while on island Gene and I went to the Gardens once again. It had grown so commercial the fee seemed outlandish for what I remembered and so we left the parking lot with money left in our wallets.
Thanks for the recommendation of the Onomea Gardens!
Aloha,
Mella
mella l
mella l
Art and Science
bytheSEA
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Another small garden is the Hilo Tropical Gardens:
"1477 Kalanianaole Avenue
Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
Telephone: 1-800-278-8005
Email: Hilogardens@aol.com
Located a mile from Hilo Harbor on the way to King's Landing; 1/4 mile from Onekahakaha Beach Park
Hilo Tropical Gardens was established in 1948 by En Loy Kong. The plantings in this 2 acre garden feature orchids, anthuriums, and other tropical ornamental plants. The garden is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday (closed Thursday and Sunday) from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Tours are self-guided; all pathways are paved and are wheelchair accessible. Entrance fee of $2.00 per person; there is no charge for children under 12 years old."
This is from the Hawai'i Island Gardens web page:
http://www.hawaii.edu/sciref/hawaiigrdns.html
This is a small gardens that is in the process of being cleaned up & refurbished, a lot of ideas for small garden plantings, fountains & ponds.
Carey
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We used to go to WBG every couple of years and enjoyed it, now it is too expensive for what they have. For 7 or 8 bucks it was nice just to roam around, what are they charging now?
Scott
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They charged $13 per adult. Less for the kids. It was near $40 for two adults and two kids. Bummer.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Also not to be missed for beautiful gardens is the Panaewa Zoo. There are many societies contributing to their gardens, such as Bamboo, Rhododendron, water garden, orchid, palm. And the price can't be beat... FREE.
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Rob - I was glad to hear from you and was pleased that you took the time to make comment to us directly on the World Botanical Gardens website.
I loved the comment:
"Sadly, they have never met their potential. Do they still make you listen to their "buy a lifetime membership" spiel? That was very annoying, but at least they served us a drink while we had to listen to it. Yuck."
I agree we have never yet met our potential, and, No, we don't make anyone listen to a spiel and I have actually never even heard about that - I am sure the former director did such things. We do serve a drink still.
I would like each of those reading these posts to know our kama'aina rate is always $6. We would love each of you to join us and feedback ways which we may enrich your experience and create a place each of you would be glad to bring guests. For what it is worth, we would gladly offer group rates, even at the gate without prior arrangements. Use my name or Lanny (Garden Director). He just loves to show his gardens to kama'aina (or anyone else that is interested).
Our board has been distracted from our development plans during the past three years with the litigation that one of the posting suggested. That is all but finished. It has wasted far too much time and resources, but we are back on track to improve the gardens to their full potential.
I have been the webmaster since I joined the board of directors three years ago. The gardens is a wonderful opportunity - unfortunately still waiting to happen in so many ways. We look forward to the future as our plans can take shape and we rapidly progress.
One last comment, about the "plaque that claimed it was "discovered" in the 1992 by some haole which is completely bogus". Our board of directors felt that same way. The plaque somehow went missing one night. It was not the county that removed the plaque - it was common sense that brought it down.
The former garden director and self proclaimed "discoverer of the falls" was the same individual that has been in litigation with the board of directors, frustrating our efforts to focus on the beauty of the gardens and commit resources.
I hope we have an opportunity to meet in the not so distant future as I would love to give you a vision of what we will accomplish at the gardens.
Mahalo and Aloha
The glass is always full - how much air is in the glass is the true question.
The glass is always full - how much air is in the glass is the true question.
