United States of America -- Hawaii -- Honolulu County -- Honolulu
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, photocopies of articles, and other information.
General:
Located on less than one acre, Butler Garden was begun in 1979 and is unique for its exceptional variety of tropical plants. It was transformed from a dirt dog run into a tropical Eden embellished with exotic palms, tropical trees, vines, heliconia, bromeliad, hedges, plants, ferns and herbs inspired by gardens the owner visited in Indonesia, Costa Rica, Singapore and Rio de Janeiro. Also on the property is a shade house which shelters begonias, calathea, vanilla orchids and seasonal vegetables.
Accentuating the lush tropical flora are unique garden ornaments and containers, such as Chinese ceramic food storage jars in front of a cottage, a brass platter purchased in Amsterdam on the door of the shade house, a giant Tridacna clam shell placed along a pathway. A propeller blade from a Japanese Zero airplane shot down during Pearl Harbor and Hawaiian war canoe stone anchor adds interest to the water feature area and a large glass ball used to float fishing nets in the early 1900s is transformed as an entrance lantern.
The owner's home, built in 1928, is in the process of being registered with the National Register of Historic Places. Plans are to continue to enhance the garden's visual affect and to lower its maintenance by incorporating ground cover, lava rocks and large groupings of bromeliads, ferns, heliconia and potted plants.
Prior to 1927, the land was part of the Bishop Estate.
Persons associated with the garden include Robert and Beryl St. Sure and George and Kathryn St. Sure (former owners, 1927-1951) and Robert Conley (former owners, 1951-1978).
Related Materials:
Butler Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (13 digital images)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
