Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, Hilo

One of the highlights for me on this trip to Hawaii was an afternoon in the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens .  It's located abaout 4 miles north of Hilo -- a beautiful drive along the ocean until we reached the parking lot.   It's hard to describe this little part of paradise, walking along a pathway under towering palms, ferns, philodendron plants (and I don't mean towering just a few feet, probably  more like 3 stories high!).  

Here are a few of my favorite shots so far -- I still have many other photos to look through.

Entry into the gardens.  

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The photo to the right (red & green) is of a bamboo.  I neglected to photograph the name, but with the database on the web site, will be able to eventually get the name.  Meanwhile, wanted to post it.   I was thrilled to see the plant.

 The common name of this plane is Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys).  This was the first flowering plant we saw as we parked the car!  Both Kerrie & I jumped out to photograph it.  I foolishly said "oh, lets look for it in the park itself."   Well, we did, and didn't see one.  This beautiful specimen was just along the roadside & parking lot!  

The final photograph is of a Rose Grape (Medinilla magnifica).  It grows to about 8 feet and has these beautiful flowers.   We saw these as we entered the gate.  Wow, and we haven't even gotten in the front gate yet.  

More to come.   If you are in the Hilo area, I highly recommend taking the time to visit the gardens.   Kerrie & I spent 4 hours here and could have stayed longer, but they garens were closing.