Kauai Garden #2

The second garden we visited on Kauai was the National Tropical Botanical Garden located on the south side of the island.
(You can see the first garden here.)




This garden varied quite a bit from the Na'Aina Kai Botanical Garden. (For one thing there were no statues.)

There are two separate gardens here. We chose to take the self-guided tour through the McBryde Garden.

The display garden was lovely enough to start...




....but the view got better and better. Just look at that giant banana plant!





























Here is one of the many Monkey Pod trees that grow on Kauai.
From How Stuff Works:
"A monkeypod tree can grow to a large size, reaching heights of 50 to 80 feet (15 to 24 meters), with a broad crown or canopy resembling an umbrella. The canopy is what makes this tree special. It typically grows about 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter, but can go as big as 200 feet (61 meters) if the tree is very old. The canopy grows biggest when the tree can grow in an open space, where it has the freedom to spread out. Because the canopy on a monkeypod tree can grow so wide, it makes a great shade tree."

They certainly would make a great shade tree but I don't think I'd want to plant one in my yard. Just look at the size of these trees!





Kim and I enjoyed wandering through this garden at our own pace. The tram driver informed us he would return every hour and we could take all the time we needed.

We certainly felt as if we had entered a tropical paradise.








































Just look at the orchid-like flowers with which this shrub is loaded.
















































Cocoa plant.























Orchids seem to appear everywhere.


















Even the scenery on the way to the garden was beautiful.





A real winner. We loved this garden. I wish we could have viewed the Allerton Garden also. Perhaps there will be a next time on Kauai for us.