Allerton Gardens

Kauai is not that large so we find ourselves visiting some of the same attractions we visited during a previous visit again. This is the case with Allerton Gardens. What struck me about our visit this year was the very different impression I got from previous visits. I decided the different perspectives resulted from the interest and focus of our tour guides. I remember a previous visit having a more botanical focus even to the point of walking through a greenhouse focused on the newest mission of the gardens as preserving tropical plants. This year was more focused on the story of the Allertons.

The Allertons had immense wealth with one being the son of a Chicago stockyards baron. The son never worked and spent a great deal of time traveling and in Hawaii. The son was gay and had as his partner a younger man that he adopted to allow for the passing on of his estate. The garden was created as an outdoor living space (their traditional home was far more modest) consisting of "rooms" the couple would use for entertaining and living their lives. Meals were enjoyed outdoors. You have to imagine the rooms shown in the following photos containing furniture and used for banquets, dancing, etc.

The rooms were planned very carefully and the trust that sustains the gardens is based on precise instructions for what is to be grown where. Hurricanes have done severe damage to the rooms and these instructions were followed carefully in the regeneration of the desired plantings.