I want to share one of my very favorite places to experience nature’s exquisite beauty,…the “Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.” The Big Island is one of Hawaii’s most diverse islands and a fascinating place to visit. We visited the gardens last September and were very lucky to have a dry day. There is a reason this side of the island is so lush,…it rains like crazy and that is why it is so green and beautiful!

The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is just 8 1/2 miles north of Hilo. I posted Part 1 of the gardens last year and is worth a look if you love exotic plants as I do. FABULOUS FLOWERS & PLANTS AT THE HAWAII TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN…PART 1

Many Beehive Gingers rise from the jungle floor like ancient torches.

Delicate Phalaenopsis orchids over a bed of Starry Spikemoss, or Selaginella stellata.

A singular Lady Slipper orchid is a radiantly center stage.

This beautiful flower had me stumped! I think it is in the orchid family. Gorgeous!

One of the volunteers told us this orchid rarely appears in the gardens. It may possibly be a Stanhopea Florida.

This exotic orchid looks like it could be from another planet!

Blue Ginger.

Marla reads a sign entitled, “Epitaph To A Beautiful Lady, Our Banyan Tree.”

Rattlesnake Plant.

There are wonderful discoveries to be made if you look really closely.

Indonesian Wax Ginger.

Yellow Plume Flower.

A beautiful ginger flower.

There so many exotic varieties of Ginger plants.

This really took our breath away as we hadn’t ever seen it before. It is a Cannonball Tree, or Couroupita guianensis.

A closeup of the flower.

You can see why they call it a Cannonball tree. It is native to Central and South America.

Flowers emerge all the way up the tree.

My brother Gary admires a Queen Anthurium’s giant leaves.

The botanical gardens trails descend from the entrance all the way down to the bay below. The plant varieties change as we get closer to the sea. Notice the “blowhole” at the bottom of the image with the sea rushing through it from the waves.

I loved experiencing the changes in the microclimate from the super humid jungle canyon all the way to the bay.

This is a photograph from the 1890s of Onomea Bay below the present Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Our visit to the gardens was a true highlight of the year!

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.