Get a guided tour of a legendary palm garden

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Hawaii Island Palm Society will tour a legendary East Hawaii palm garden at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.

Hawaii Island Palm Society will tour a legendary East Hawaii palm garden at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.

This is not just a mature palm garden but a rain forest garden accented with cycads, aroids, orchids and other tropicals. The original 2 acres of the garden were developed by the late renowned palm enthusiast Ken Foster. The current owners, also avid palm growers and collectors, acquired the garden in 2001.

The current owners expanded the garden to 4 acres and continued to maintain a natural setting, with the garden flowing from understory plantings to the native ohia tree canopy.

In the garden, tour participants will see many palms from Madagascar, which the current owners find as some of their favorites.

Other palms in the garden include the Lodoicea maldivica, Dypsis and Ravenea collections, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons and magnifica, to name a few.

This guided tour is open to nonmembers for a cost of $10 per person. Or an annual family palm society membership is only $15.

The tour is about 90 minutes, with a potluck and ice cream social to follow. To reserve a spot on the tour or if you have questions, call Bob Gibbens at 333-5626.

Find more information about HIPS at www.hawaiiislandpalmsociety.com.