KAPAA — This month will mark the end of a long chapter of growing at 6660 Kawaihau Road in Upper Kapahi. “We have to be out of here by Jan. 31,” Liz Ronaldson of Growing Greens Nursery said. “Sunday, when
KAPAA — This month will mark the end of a long chapter of growing at 6660 Kawaihau Road in Upper Kapahi.
“We have to be out of here by Jan. 31,” Liz Ronaldson of Growing Greens Nursery said. “Sunday, when we came in, there was a rope right through the plants with a ‘Private Property’ sign. We got the staff out here and moved all of the stock to behind the rope by the end of the day. We paid rent for two months, but it’s coming.”
Leased from a private landowner, Ronaldson said the property was sold and they were told the nursery had to move.
The notice prompted the Ronaldsons to put the nursery up for sale, with the promise of retirement peeking from behind the sale.
“I’m too old for this,” Liz said. “Our daughter, Marit McHugh, came home to help us with the nursery six years ago. I spoke with her and she doesn’t want to deal with all of the paperwork behind operating a nursery. She likes working, but not the paperwork.”
With sale prospects slim, Liz said she started looking for land to relocate the nursery, which provides a major share of Christmas poinsettia for the island as well as weekly seedlings and other plants to major accounts, including Walmart, The Home Depot and Kmart.
This is in addition to the nursery’s appearances at major gardening events including the Kauai County Farm Bureau Fair and the spring Garden Fair at Kauai Community College.
“We could get land, but there’s no water and it would be too expensive to develop. There was just too much to do,” Liz said, moving around the once lush environment, now down to her final shade house. “This is the last one, but we need this for the bromeliads. I’m getting too old to incur any debt.”
Faced with the possibility of closing the nursery which has served Kauai for more than two decades, Lyn Ubogan, an employee of six years, became the beacon of light when she offered to purchase the family operation.
“Growing Greens has made a lot of people happy for 20 years,” Liz said. “Before that, the Morita family was growing orchids from this very place before it became a nursery.”
Lyn and her father Derrik were at the nursery, but now to learn the operation instead of being employees.
“My son Kaiea said after all the misfortunes we’ve gone through, this will be a good year,” Lyn said. “Right now, I’m overwhelmed. I’m getting married to Kenderson in December, and now with the nursery.”
Lyn, who started Makaleha Nursery, said they haven’t figured out if the nursery will continue with its Growing Greens moniker, but for now, will focus on moving the stock off the Kawaihau Road address by Jan. 31.
“The new location, 7131 Moalepe Road, is just up the road,” Lyn said. “Not even five minutes at the base of the Makalea Mountain.”
Liz said all of the 10 employees, including daughter Marit, will go with the nursery and work for Lyn.
“It’s the skill of the people who made Growing Greens what it is,” Liz said. “I came to Hawaii to learn how to grow tropical fruits, and who would have thought I would end up with a nursery?”
One of the people is Justo Villanueva, who found his job by walking in and asking if they needed help.
“He came with the nursery when we took over,” Liz said. “Now, his son Alex works with us, too. They’re good people and most of them have been here between 15 and 20 years.”
She said part of the relocation process taking place under a handwritten “We’re Open” sign and customers scrambling to find parking on the road shoulders, is to have people sign a guest book with their snail mail address.
“We don’t believe in email,” Liz said. “We’re going to send out postcards notifying people of what is happening with Growing Greens.”
Will Ronaldson, Liz’s husband and an active member of The Starlighters band, said leaving the property is bittersweet.
“We’ve met so many wonderful people over 20 years,” he said. “I might be leaving the nursery business, but I’m not retiring from The Starlighters.”
Liz said she didn’t realize it has been 20 years, but has enjoyed every minute.
At times overcome with emotion while touring the expanse of land which once flourished with shade houses and irrigation systems, Liz said, “Things change. Hopefully, under Lyn and her family, Growing Greens will be bigger, and better.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
