Maui: Kula Botanical Garden, part 2

This is part 2 of my post about Kula Botanical Garden. Click here to read part 1.

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Even though Kula Botanical Garden is “only” 8 acres, I spent the better part of three hours exploring—and taking hundreds of photos. The sky was overcast and there was a slight drizzle so I ended up using my tripod for most pictures. Of course that takes longer than simply walking around but I ended up getting sharp photos. Fortunately, there were very few other people around so I wasn’t blocking anybody’s way. As I mentioned before, I don’t know how a for-profit operation like Kula Botanical Garden can stay in business with so few visitors, but maybe I was simply there at the wrong time of year.

Let’s continue our walk through the garden. Part 1 of my post covered the upper portion; part 2 is about the middle and lower portion. The vegetation here is more lush and tropical because of a stream and pond.

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Queen sago (Cycas circinalis), Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’ and miscellaneous ferns

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Queen sago (Cycas circinalis), Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’

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Queen sago (Cycas circinalis); the flower is from Leucospermum cordifolium (yellow form)

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Paperbark tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia)

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Giant bird of paradise (Strelitzia nicolai)

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Another tiki! I wish I knew what the custom is behind leaving money in its mouth…

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Gingers, ferns, and bamboo in the background

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Allspice (Pimenta dioica). Yes, this is the tree that allspice comes from. I had never seen one before. What a beautiful tree, but unfortunately not hardy at all.

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The tallest specimen of Kalanchoe beharensis I’ve ever seen; also one of the few succulents at Kula Botanical Garden

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Green and black elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta)

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Dragon tree (Dracaena draco) and bamboo

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Red ti (Cordyline fruticosa) surrounded by a lovely unlabeled fern

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Beautiful water feature

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Koi pond; check out the large clump of Aloe arborescens behind it—what a startling, incongruous sight!

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Inspired pairing: Ź»AmaŹ»u (Sadleria cyatheoides), a fern native to Hawaii, and ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata), a caudiform native to Mexico and Central America

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Ź»AmaŹ»u (Sadleria cyatheoides)

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Ź»AmaŹ»u (Sadleria cyatheoides)

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Hapu'u (Ciboteum splendens), a Hawaiian tree fern

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Hapu'u (Ciboteum splendens) with paperbark tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in the background

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Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) and Guzmania sanguinea, one of the most beautiful terrestrial bromeliads

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Guzmania sanguinea

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Guzmania sanguinea

Earlier I said that I didn’t see any king proteas (Protea cynaroides) in bloom in the garden. Imagine my surprise when I saw this right outside the gift shop as I was leaving:

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King protea (Protea cynaroides)

The flowers of the king protea are so stunning that one photo simply won’t do:

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I left Kula Botanical Garden on a high, so happy with all the beautiful things I’d seen.

It is amazing that an island like Maui, which really isn’t all that large, has close to a dozen public and private botanical gardens. Some, like Maui Sacred Garden, I didn’t even find out about until I got back home. Time to plan another trip!

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Comments

  1. So wonderful, it is great to look at your pictures of plants that are So different fromk what we have here. It is like getting into another world a bit.

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  2. Those photos are slammin good! I am in love with the red Bromeliads! Those photos jump out of the screen! What a beautiful place!

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  3. Wow, another visual exotic treat of a place!

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