A garden tour in Volcano
When I'm visiting up in Volcano village on Hawaii Island, I love stopping by my favorite art gallery/café with this whimsical garden. Open to the public everyday, the Volcano Garden Arts center is a fun place to see beautiful art work and crafts, and also explore the colorful garden surrounding the gallery. Filled with sculpture, art objects and other art inspired vignettes sprinkled around the garden walks, its a fun and place to walk around. Eclectic tropical plantings and quirky garden art here and there creates interesting spaces to explore and soak in the tropical ambience in this center.
The owner, an artist and collector of sculpture including these large porcelain ceramic pieces were placed in various places along the grassy areas facing the café. (maybe to illicit tea time or grabbing a bite to eat). They are interesting objects to admire while viewing the various elements in the garden from the café views.
While hidden behind some giant alocasia plants another hidden porcelain warrior is standing guard.
There are many small water features like this little fountain with fresh tropical flowers placed below the water to break up the fall into the pottery. In the entryway to the gallery, it is a warm symbol of aloha before entering the building.
Also around the walk up entry lanai are beautiful potted geraniums and this begonia filled with pink blossoms.
There are many giant hapu'u or tree ferns close-by, most of them planted with bromeliads which love attaching to the limbs and getting its nutrients directly from the outdoor elements.
On this hapuu fern a shocking red miltonia orchid is blooming with new spikes just starting to unfurl its petals.
I love this half sunk Thai Buddha submerged in this water garden.
And another garden feature with a sweet smiling boy admiring the tropical flowers.
Here's a collection of succulents I found in a partially covered gazebo, I love the whimsy of the last two pottery and plant vignettes with the oriental statues.
The garden is even popular with locals who like to visit the café or just hang out in the gardens where its nice and quiet, a great spot to relax and read a book like this guy below.
Another whimsical detail with these little mosaic birdhouses, who wants to take one home with them?
There was a ceramicist giving a pottery demonstration in one of the pavilions, here she is showing how to create an opening hole for the tea spigot with this tea pot. Below is one of her colorful teapots on display, aren't they so wonderfully detailed?
Nearby is the meditation garden, which has these tall pine trees that are formed in a large rectangular space with nothing in the middle except for pine needles and a tall column filled with tropical flowers....very zen wouldn't you say?
Close to the entry of the zen garden sits a small Buddha . I love when the bromeliad plants and buddha are almost buried in weeds and overgrown areas, like something neglected and disappearing back into nature and adding a nice old patina to this section.
One last Buddha, greets us on the way back to the parking lot with another flower offering on his folded hands.
Well there were quite a lot of treasures and sculptures to be found in the garden. Next time your here in Volcano, do drop by and also see the beautiful artwork for sale in the gallery. Here's some more information on the
Volcano Garden Arts center for you to visit.
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