{"id":10707,"date":"2012-10-12T07:54:37","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T17:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=10707"},"modified":"2021-12-08T13:42:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T23:42:02","slug":"hilos-botanical-gardens-win-landscape-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2012\/10\/12\/hilos-botanical-gardens-win-landscape-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilo\u2019s botanical gardens win landscape award"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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The UH<\/abbr> Hilo Botanical Gardens are home to one of the largest collections of cycads in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The botanical gardens at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> were recently selected as the recipient of the prestigious Award of Excellence for Community Gardens by Scenic Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> as part of the 10th Annual Betty Crocker Landscape Awards.<\/p>\n

The gardens have previously been recognized for landscaping excellence with awards including the Outstanding Urban Forestry Achievement Award, the Kaulunani Urban Forestry Project Award and the Hilo Outdoor Circle Beautification Award for Excellence in Landscaping.<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> Hilo Botanical Gardens consist of three separate areas that feature cycads, bromeliads and palms. Currently, they include one of the largest collections of cycads in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> with over 100 species from 10 genera and several species yet to be named.<\/p>\n

One section of the garden has over 40 species of zamia from Mexico and Central and South America. Other sections contain rare and endangered plants from Africa, Australia, China and Vietnam.<\/p>\n

A learning laboratory and community garden<\/h2>\n

The botanical gardens at UH<\/abbr> Hilo were started in the 1980s by Professor Don Hemmes<\/strong> when, after hearing a lecture on the life cycle of a pine tree, a student in a freshman biology course asked, “What’s a pine tree? Where I live there aren’t such things as pine trees.”<\/p>\n

Hemmes got a shovel, and that was the beginning of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo Botanical Gardens, which contain hundreds of plants that students might otherwise not experience unless they traveled outside of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of each semester, hundreds of students tour the gardens and learn about various groups of plants, how they reproduce, their distribution in various countries and their general importance in the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

“The gardens serve as a source of flowers and leaves to be shown in laboratories and rare plants to conduct experiments in pollination, seed development and pest control,” Hemmes explained. “The gardens are visited as well by many plant lovers and garden enthusiasts in Hilo and visitors who are encouraged to tour the gardens.”<\/p>\n

— Adapted from a UH<\/abbr> Hilo news release<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UH<\/abbr> Hilo Botanical Gardens serve as a learning laboratory for students and a community garden for local plant lovers and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island visitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-10707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-uh-hilo","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t