One of the most beautiful places we visited on the island of Hawaii this summer was the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden (HTBG).
Located on a 17-acre site above Onomea Bay about 10 miles north of Hilo, the HTBG was created by Dan Lutkenhouse and his wife Pauline. They purchased the parcel in 1977 after having having spotted it during a vacation. Soon after, the Lutkenhouses sold their trucking business in San Francisco and moved to Hawaiii to fulfilll their vision: a botanical garden that would preserve the beauty of Onomea Valley forever.
For eight years, Dan Lutkenhouse, his assistant and two helpers worked on clearing what originally was impenetrable jungle, building trails, and laying the foundation for the garden you see today. The HTBG opened to the public in 1984 and was donated by the Lutkenhouses to a non-profit trust they established in 1995. Dan Lutkenhouse died in 2007 at age 85; Pauline continues to be active as the president of the Garden’s foundation. (To read more about the history of the garden, click here.)
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