E Komo Mai
A Dynamic Community Devoted to Oahu’s Five Botanical Gardens
The Friends of Honolulu Botanical Gardens
is a support organization serving
the city’s Honolulu Botanical Gardens system
through its fund-raising efforts.
The Honolulu Botanical Gardens are comprised of five gardens on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i.
Our site contains information about our gardens, links to botanical information and a listing of events for members and the public. Our group hosts many special events and offers instructional classes,
special garden tours and plant sales throughout the year.
WHAT'S BLOOMING
Upcoming Events + Blooms
The 60th year of the Friends of Honolulu Botanical Gardens has been a full one indeed. We started with a celebratory event held at Foster featuring the Royal Hawaiian Band with laudatory greetings from our friends in the C&C.
We co-sponsored the Hawaii Triennial 2022 at Foster Garden in the spring, the 40th Anniversary of Ho’omaluhia honoring Paul Weissich in the summer followed by a musical evening at Wahiawa Garden.
We are delighted to have a new roof on our Gift Shop and have stocked more locally sourced merchandise in light of ongoing shipping delays. Our books continue to be popular with residents and visitors alike.
We are excited for the coming year and our continued outreach into all of the HBG gardens and the community. Keep an eye out for a plant sale and other activities as we celebrate the upcoming holidays. Remember that your gifts help to make all this possible.
2022 is a year to remember!
Ho'o is 40!
KĀNE‘OHE – The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is proud to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden with a series of events highlighting the City’s largest botanical garden and the staff who made this priceless parcel of tropical tranquility possible. In July, the garden’s visitor center complex will be dedicated as the Paul R. Weissich Education Center at Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden. Mr Weissich was the Honolulu Botanical Garden Director from 1957 to 1989, during which time he helped create the current Honolulu Botanical Garden (HBG) system with five locations.“Mr. Weissich was a visionary landscape architect, prolific author, and passionate civic leader,” said current HBG Director Joshlyn Sand. “He truly conceived and championed Ho‘omaluhia from its inception. It is hard to imagine this garden would have come to fruition without his vision, skills, patience, tenacity, and sense of humor. This tribute to his unparalleled effort in service of these gardens is well-deserved to say the least.” The newly dedicated education center will host two exhibits highlighting all five of the City’s botanical gardens from July through August. Visitors can view a photographic celebration of Ho‘omaluhia, Foster, Koko Crater, Lili‘uokalani, and Wahiawā botanical gardens in addition to a Hawaiian ethnobotanical exhibit honoring Olive L. Vanselow for her extraordinary 36 years of service as Ho‘omaluhia Programs Specialist.
On March 4, 1982, Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden opened to the public becoming the fifth and largest botanical garden in the HBG System. The garden contains the Kāne‘ohe-Kailua Dam and the Loko Waimaluhia reservoir designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide flood protection for Kāne‘ohe. DPR worked in collaboration with USACE to incorporate the garden concept and recreation opportunities into a truly visionary design.
Today, this 400-acre garden receives 600,000 visitors annually with a near-even distribution between Hawai‘i residents and visitors. Ho‘omaluhia means to “to make a place of peace and tranquility” in Hawaiian.
Ho‘omaluhia is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is only closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day. For general information and the latest updates on all of your Honolulu Botanical Gardens please follow us on Instagram @honolulubotanicalgardens or visit the official website www.honolulubotanicalgardens.com
—PAU