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Kula Botanical Gardens

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two cruisers
two cruisers
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
5
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Editor Pick

Great Layout that Seems a Bit Neglected

  • January 16, 2009
  • Rated 3 of 5 by two cruisers from Ames, Iowa
Great Layout that Seems a Bit Neglected

Upcountry Maui is so different from the resort areas. First of all it’s cooler, but not cold. The roads are narrow and twisting, but well maintained. There is more rain but also more lush landscapes. On other trips Upcountry our goal was to see the crater at Haleakala, a worthy goal. This time we decided to stop and smell the flowers. Kula Botanical Gardens is located at 638 Kekaulike Ave (Hwy. 377) in Kula. There will be an official Hawaii Visitor Bureau Warrior sign on the road to tell you were to turn. My advice is to drive slowly or you could be past the sign before it registers. If you get to the intersection with Hwy 37, you have gone too far!
The McCords set up the garden as a display for his landscape architecture business in 1968. It is still family owned and operated garden covering 8 acres. Admission is low at $2.00 for kids, $7.50 for adults and $6.50 for us seniors. The hours are 9-4 daily. If there is a hint of rain be sure to pick up the loaner umbrellas in the gift shop. They also loan you a laminated map to help you enjoy the garden better and to prevent you from walking in circles! Features of the garden are an aviary, carved tiki exhibit, waterfalls, koi pond, specialized gardens for orchids, bromeliads, and protea. To two tourists from Iowa it is always startling to see what we think of as house plants growing to be as tall or taller than we are. Our absolutely favorite part of the garden was the protea and banksias flowers. They are so unique. Overall the garden had been well planned with good variety and interesting displays. However, the whole garden seemed to be suffering from benign neglect. Some areas were really overgrown and often the informative signs were hidden by overgrowth. The most disturbing part of the garden was the Nene habitat, where two nene geese, two Africans Cranes and a few other ducks were "protected". Four of these animals were in ill health. One of The African Cranes had open wounds. The water they were swimming in was thick and murky with lots of floating debris. I’m not including our pictures taken here because they are disgusting. The aviary also was poorly attended to. Bird droppings were very thick under the perches. Because of these two disturbing areas I hesitate to recommend this attraction. The Jackson Chameleon exhibit near the gift shop was well maintained.

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