Search This Blog

Thursday, June 23, 2011

National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai

Kauai is not called the Garden Island without reason.

And how can a trip to Kauai be complete without a trip to at least one of the famous botanical gardens. We chose to visit the McBryde Garden (purely because it was a cheaper alternative at $20 a person compared to the $40 for the Allerton Gardens)

This is the view that greets you as you approach the garden on a tram that drives you there.


They also have a lovely stream that runs across the garden




and a bed of pink Hibiscus


Some of the plants/ trees brought back colorful memories of growing up in India.

A colorful Eucalyptus


The Delonix Regia (known fondly in my childhood as Flame of the Forest)


The Ixora that was the most commonly used landscaping plant in the parks around where I grew up.


The Papaya that brought back memories of the one that grew right outside my bedroom window.


And the Sapodilla that was massive in size and was extremely difficult to resist the temptation to pluck them off the tree. (We found later that it might be an inedible variety, that explains why it was pristine and not even touched by the birds)



The Noni fruit that my dad has been raving about and I had not seen until now


I also saw the "Nagalinga Poo"(Tamil name), known commonly as the Cannonball tree. The flower has a unique structure and an even more intoxicating scent that is up there with another Hawai'i staple, the plumeria.



We also saw the Cacao tree that I have vague memories of seeing in a tropical garden somewhere in the outskirts of Coimbatore when I was in school.


We also learnt quite a bit of garden trivia,

...........the fact that the Plumeria is not native to Hawaii


Here are some colorful pictures. I don't know their names, but they provide solace to sore eyes.











Candlestick Ginger

Heliconia

One of the many palm varieties

No comments:

Post a Comment