Foster Botanical Garden!

What Is the Foster Botanical Garden?

This is Hawaiʻi’s oldest botanical garden!

What Makes It Historical?

On March 7, 1848, King Kamehameha III redistributed land across the Hawaiian Islands in a process called the Māhele, and his wife, Kalama, received a large chunk of land in this area. In 1853, she leased part of her property to a German physician/botanist named Dr. William Hillebrand, who had come to Hawaiʻi to find workers for the sugar plantations, a cure for leprosy, and ways to introduce new plants and animals to the islands. This was the place where he introduced banyan trees, cinnamon, mynah birds, deer, and more!

In 1871, the Hillebrand family returned to Germany and sold the property to Thomas and Mary Foster, whose name is still on the property! Mary was both a botanist and a Buddhist, who contributed to Hawaiʻi’s first Buddhist temple and to renovations at the Mahabodhi Temple in India! For that, she received a cutting of the bodhi tree, which is still here onsite! In 1930, Mary gave her home and garden to the city of Honolulu, which maintains one of the most significant tropical plant collections in the USA!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer at the Honolulu Botanical Gardens!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!