Amy B.H Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden

CLOSED!!!
I came to Hawaii with nothing in my heart other than seeing ethnobotonical gardens with my wife and in-​laws.
When we rolled up, there was a sign that explained they closed 1.31.16. Now I’ll never be able to know what mysteries were contained behind that hanging chain gate.

It was a nice walk around a small garden. If you’re interested in native/​endemic plants you’ll appreciate this. If you are looking for a lush botanical garden you’ll be underwhelmed.

Every Sunday, a Green local market. 11a to 2pm. Locally made products are displayed n sold to the community. You have to go n see. Smells… taste. talk. .share…explore…Food, gifts, local services in the community. Go early Parking is limited.

Completely disappointed! This place looks unkept and they have the audacity to charge for admission! They cut the grass but that’s the extent of upkeep.

An educational experience even for a self-​confessed non-​gardener like me. I should have been bored but Jim the guide was so interesting. His tour was almost two hours.
The little office has a wealth of books, maps, water and chips. The restrooms are the cleanest on the island. Those in charge were so friendly.
Yes, the garden is casual and has no talking trees or laser fountains, but it does give a sense of Hawaii 200 years ago and how the first people’s lived off the land before condos and rental cars.

This is a beautiful and informative garden. It definitely takes a lot of reading and there isn’t much shade so be prepared to spend some time in the sun. Otherwise it’s really cool to be in a place with plants that are solely Hawaiian and Polynesian.

Awesome. Definitely recommend coming for the 1pm tour. Peter is awesome! So beautiful and fragrant, and the tour provides insightful history of the plants here in Hawaii.
Used to be owned by this lady called Amy Greenwell, who they should probably make a movie about. Very interesting story. Now owned by the Bishop Museum. Got to keep some sandal wood berries, will try growing them :)

Great concept, horrible execution. This looked like someone’s poorly maintained back yard and half the plants didn’t have signs. There’s more to an ethnobotanical garden than planting the correct plants. There is no pleasing landscaping of any kind, but plenty of dead and dried leaves, old coconut remnants, random expanses of poorly maintained grass, broken trees, and weeds. Someone who has been to a proper botanical garden needs to take this over.
That said, the tiny visitor’s center is nice and so are the staff.

This is a great ethnobotanical garden. For the previous reviewer, I think it’s possible she may have misunderstood what that means. This is a garden designed to teach about native Hawaiian and Polynesian plants found here pre-​European contact.
It is a great hands-​on location to experience and learn about various native plants that you might not see elsewhere– or you would possibly see, but overlook (like «weeds») not knowing what it was.
The park went over a renovation the last few years and has a new visitors center and small store.
$ 7 ($ 5 kama’aina) is not a lot to ask, especially considering there are not many parks dedicated to ethnobotany.
The park holds various festivals and workshops throughout the year as well, teaching the community about many different things.
Hopefully people take the time to walk through the park, look at the plant names and descriptions, and learn some more of the culture while they are here. The garden is a great asset to our community.

This place was disappointing. It was expensive, too. $ 7 a person was a lot for a not that great garden. Not many flowers. Biggest complaint: there were weeds all over the place. They clearly weren’t taking very good care of it. Skip it.