Upon request by the owners and IPS president Andy Hurwitz I am posting information about a one of a kind legacy property available for sale in Hawaii. 
 

PT is not normally the correct venue for real estate ads, but I believe when you read more you will see why an exception is made here. 
 

Although memories of my visit there in 2022 will forever be etched in my mind, please address inquiries to the owners, not to me personally. 
 

Please see information and photos from the owners:
 

A New Chapter for Casa de Las Palmas 

 

We purchased Casa de Las Palmas in 2017 from the estate of legendary nurseryman Jerry Hunter.  

 

Jerry was the owner of Rancho Soledad Nurseries in California, Palms of Paradise in Hawaii, and Mount Soledad in Pacific Beach.  Dubbed the "Dean of California Landscape Architects", he held license #33.  His designs are found throughout the San Diego area, including San Diego Zoo, Balboa Botanical Gardens, and a host of other public and private venues.  Along with collecting and hybridizing many new plant varieties, he built the first plant tissue culture laboratory in San Diego.

 

Casa de Las Palmas was Jerry's private Hawaiian retreat.  Over the course of 35 years, Jerry transformed seven acres of upper Hilo farmland into a true garden masterpiece, creating a magical realm of exotic palms, waterfalls, meandering lava-rock paths, water gardens, and flowering tropical plants.  Now over 45 years since planting began, it's a vast and mature botanical collection of rare palms, cycads, philodendrons, bromeliads, anthuriums and orchids.

 

We have been honored to be the caretakers, but the time has come for us to move on, so we are offering the property for sale.   Before we list it on the open market, we want palm and garden lovers to know it is available, in the hope that we can find a custodian for the future.

 

The property has a 2-bedroom, 2-and-a-half-bathroom house with a separate apartment, and potential for additional dwellings.  We currently do private garden tours, film shoots, and small events, and there is plenty of room to grow a successful business here.

 

We had the delight of hosting IPS members for a lunch and tour during the 2022 Biennial in Hawaii.

 

Please do contact us if you would like any further information. 

 

Irene Francis & Lars Woodruffe

 

646-338-7882

irenefrancis@hotmail.com

https://houseofthepalms.com/

 

 

 

Absolutely beautiful, you have put the advertisement in the right place. 
As you say it should at least go into the hands of a palm enthusiast such as on this forum. 
I can dream of purchasing such a place! 

Thank you for doing this. As @happypalms , Richard says , it should go to a person or group that will maintain the botanical integrity of such a beautiful collection . When I first started my palm obsession in the early 1990’s Rancho Soledad was one of my “go to” spots to buy palms even though it was hours away by car ( or van!) . At that time they told me that one of their biggest customers was Disney. I had heard they had a location in Hawaii but never visited when there. 
 I will never forget my first visit to the “Palmatum” greenhouse at Rancho Soledad. Harry

Lars and Irene performed hundreds of miracles in this garden. It had been somewhat neglected between when Jerry passed and when the garden came into their hands. They dug mud from the lily pond and restored it. They brought the palms, anthuriums, bromeliads and other exotics of the garden back to vibrant life, and the overall garden to its full glory, learning everything as they went. I do hope to see this garden pass into hands equally devoted to this masterpiece. Thanks to Lars and Irene for the several wondrous times we have had the pleasure of visiting.

I have not been able to find the real estate listing anywhere - is it online yet?  

I don’t know Brad52 but the owner’s contact information is at the bottom of the first post. 

On 1/13/2026 at 10:41 AM, Brad52 said:

I have not been able to find the real estate listing anywhere - is it online yet?  

Hi Brad, no, we are not officially listing until February... we wanted the Palm world to have the opportunity first. If you'd like to chat... call us! Irene 646 338 7882.

Thanks for the information, personally I’m not in a position to relocate at this time but I wanted to learn the ‘particulars’  so that I might ponder friends & family to see if there might be a match out there.

Wow! Would you be willing to PM me the general part of town this is in? We're going to be out there in March and I'd like to at least do a slow drive-by and oogle at the front yard if you don't mind? This is much nicer than our black rectangle that we have in Leilani . We're not moving anywhere for the foreseeable future but it's always nice to see something more exotic in Hilo than a triangle palm lol! 

 

 

Patrick, there are some fantastic palm gardens in and around Hilo and most owners would be glad opening them for a tour. 

Give some of the Hawai’i island Palmtalkers a ring. 

Tim

Asking 2.7 million for anyone curious.