Foster Botanical Garden, Honolulu

Foster Botanical Garden, spanning 13.5 acres, is one of Oahu's five public botanical gardens. Located in Honolulu, near Chinatown at Nu'uanu Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard, the garden is surrounded by a bustling urban landscape, including shopping centers, educational institutions, and various religious centers like Buddhist, Shinto, and Methodist. It's the oldest botanical garden in Hawaii and is recognized in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1853, Queen Kalama leased 4.6 acres to Dr. William Hillebrand, a German plant expert, who introduced new plants and animals to Hawaii, including deer and mynah birds. He planted many mature trees in the Upper Terrace before returning to Germany in 1888 after writing "Flora of the Hawaiian Islands." In 1884, Thomas and Mary Foster bought the property, and when Mary passed away in 1930, she left it to Honolulu as a public park named Foster Park.

Dr. Harold Lyon, the first garden director, brought in thousands of plants and began the renowned orchid collection. Paul Weissich, director from 1957 to 1989, not only expanded Foster Garden to 14 acres with native plants but also developed four other sites on Oahu, forming the 650-acre Honolulu Botanical Gardens system. This network showcases rare plant species from various tropical environments and hosts the most extensive tropical plant collection in the U.S.

Today, the garden includes several sections: the Upper Terrace (the oldest area), Middle Terraces (featuring palms and other tropical plants), Economic Garden (with herbs and other useful plants), Prehistoric Glen (with ancient plants), Lyon Orchid Garden, and a Hybrid Orchid Display. It's home to notable trees, including a descendant of the Bodhi tree linked to Buddha.