KAHULUI — Red, white, pink and yellow hibiscus may be just a few native Hawaiian plants that will grace a memorial garden for a late agronomist and pineapple expert.

Community leader and philanthropist Mary Cameron Sanford recently donated $120,000 to Maui Nui Botanical Gardens to fulfill her late husband's dream of having a memorial garden filled with native plants.

Wallace G. Sanford, a one-time head of agronomy and soil science at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and part-time Kihei resident, died in 1992. He was 69.

Wallace Sanford was also a pineapple researcher and was interested in Maui botanists, horticulturists and volunteer work with native plants.

"I thought this would be a perfect fit," said Mary Sanford.

Lisa Schattenburg-Raymond, director of Maui Nui, said she was in shock when she heard about the grant, saying it was the largest the organization has received.

Schattenburg-Raymond called Wallace Sanford a "plant lover" who planted a number of native hibiscus in his home garden on O'ahu.

While the money is meant to start up the garden, some will go toward hiring a development person who will assist with grant writing and administrative work for the nonprofit organization. The garden is along Kanaloa Avenue on the old zoo site.

Schattenburg-Raymond, a horticulturist, said having another staffer will allow her more time to be in the garden. There are four full-time staff members.

"We've been working within our means, (but) this really gives us a boost to move forward," Schattenburg-Raymond said.

The nonprofit organization relies heavily on grants and donations, and profits from its two annual native plant sales.

Maui Nui Botanical Gardens was the first in the state to incorporate all native plants and is the only botanical garden on a coastal dune system, Schattenburg-Raymond said.

The garden also has more than 20 types of Hawaiian bananas and boasts other types of native plants.

"People have no idea of the treasures we have here," Schattenburg-Raymond said.

Details of the memorial garden still need to be worked out, but the vision for it is forming.

Schattenburg-Raymond said she and the staff are looking to have the garden in the middle of the grounds, where it could include benches to make it a "nice cozy spot." It also will have a plaque for Wallace Sanford.

Mary Sanford met her husband in 1952, when the two worked at the Pineapple Research Institute on O'ahu, which was funded by pineapple companies.

Mary Sanford said her husband, who late in life suffered from emphysema, knew he wasn't going to live long, and told her he wished to have a memorial garden dedicated to his Pineapple Institute colleagues at Harold L. Lyon Arboretum near the Sanfords' home on O'ahu.

She obliged, and when a garden didn't pan out at the Lyon Arboretum, she brought the idea to Maui.