The Joseph Rock Arboretum is a garden located in the native Hawaiian dry forest, in the heart of Kona, Hawaii. The grounds include cataloged collections of tropical hardwood species, cactus/succulent, tropical flowering trees, agroforestry species. It is the home to Future Forests Nursery and the Hawaii Island Seed Bank. It is a training center for new forest creators from all over the world.
The garden is 48 acres, located in Kona, Hawaii. Private tours, educational tours, and training are available by appointment.
2025 Classes and Workshops
We offer very special classes & workshops once a quarter.
These classes are offered at $35/pp.
Sign up, space is limited!
2nd Quarter- High Tea in the Garden! April 13, 11am – 4pm
Be a part of a fundraiser for the garden pavilion! We will serve high tea and have live musical ensembles throughout the event. There will also be 4 walking tours of the Hawaiian dry forest offered.
Space is limited. Beginning donation is $88. Event flyer and sign up at info@josephrockarboretum.org.
2nd Quarter- Creating Herbarium collections – May 17, 2025, 8-11am
You will have a special tour in the Hawaiian dry forest and conduct a hands-on activity of taking cuttings of native species and creating herbarium pressings of the plants with plant presses and proper labeling.
3rd Quarter – Botanical Illustration – July 12, 2025, 8-11am
You will have an enjoyable morning learning about how the early plant hunters collected specimens, created herbarium specimens, and also botanically illustrated the plants with proper anatomical accuracy so other botanists could learn their taxonomy.
4th Quarter- Botanical Dye Workshop – Waiala Ahn & Justin Cook Tripp
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The Aha Moku System
According to Aha Moku, “For more than 10 centuries, the Hawaiian system of natural resource management has been handed down in oral tradition and practice. It is based on the concept of `ahupua`a, the traditional land and ocean tenure system of Hawaii.” This land tenure system divided the land from the mountains to the sea. The Joseph Rock Arboretum is in the ahupua’a of Honokohauiki.
To learn more about the history of the land see this story map.
Private garden tours – contact us