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The Merwin Conservancy

We tend a garden that speaks to the world.

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On the last day of the world
I would want to plant a tree
– W.S. Merwin


VIDEO STILL FROM "THRESHOLD," A SHORT FILM BY SAYLER/MORRIS

Sheltering, in this place

The Sitting Room: Sit in W.S. Merwin's meditation dojo, deep in the palm forest

While we navigate this uncertain moment, we offer an invitation to immerse yourself in the stillness and beauty of this extraordinary place. In "The Sitting Room," you can enter W.S. Merwin’s meditation dojo, at the heart of the palm forest.

The Sitting Room

Our Mission

We inspire innovation in the arts and sciences by advancing the ideas of W.S. Merwin – his life, work, house and palm forest – as fearless and graceful examples of the power of imagination and renewal.

Our Founders

William Stanley Merwin
(1927 – 2019)

Paula Dunaway Merwin
(1936-2017)

In 2010, William and Paula Merwin established The Merwin Conservancy to preserve and share the home and garden they made together on Maui. For over forty years, learning from the land as they went, the Merwins transformed a damaged landscape into a lush and rare palm garden. It is now one of the most important assemblages of palms in the world, and a singular place of stillness, wonder, and inspiration.

Putting Life Back Into the World

"In gardening, as my wife and I go about it here, what are called concerns–for ecology and the environment, for example–merge inevitably with work done every day, within sight of the house, with our own hands, and the concerns remain intimate and familiar rather than far away. They do not have to be thought about, they are at home in the mind. I have never lived anywhere that was more true."
— W.S. Merwin

Latest from the Garden

Wallichia disticha, inflorescence
Looking into the realm of poets
Dear Friends, One afternoon last week, as we walked along the northern edge of the garden, we met a distichous
People and Place in Stories of Old
While conducting research into the history of the ahupua‘a of Pe‘ahi and the moku of Hāmākualoa (where The Merwin Conservancy
Bridging Languages
Tucked among the pages of a book in the library, we found this scrap of paper, on which William worked
A red cardinal eats blueberries on a porch railing
There is another way
One person can heal one’s environment profoundly, and with profound pleasure and joy.
Blueberies on the Breakfast Lanai
Keeping Rituals Alive with Blueberries
Each morning, William and Paula placed a small bowl of blueberries on the breakfast lanai, and lined the railing with
Discovering Layers of Meaning
This weekend, we’ll gather for the first time with a small group of neighbors and our partner, Hawai‘i Land Trust
Remembrance in the Garden
Dear Friends, A year ago, in the early days of March and of the Conservancy’s stewardship of the house and
Paula’s Linens
Paula's linens brought the table to life at many a carefully crafted dinner gathering. Her presence remains in the spaces she created
An essay resurfaces, and resonates
Dear Friends, As the world struggles to understand the senselessness of war in Ukraine, several people have written to me wondering

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Photos: Larry Cameron and Tom Sewell

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