By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin Waihale Products owner Alvin Tsuruda, surrounded by anthuriums, calls his work a labor of love. Up before dawn, owner William Durston strolls among his potted flowers, hundreds of thousands of them laid out in glorious array. Standing sentry is solitary Mount Olomana, its sharp pinnacles showing a single blade from this angle.
Automatic sprinklers pop on, throw a sudden mist, then quickly fall silent.
A tiny cellular in Durston's pocket will soon begin to ring. Another day of growing, wheeling and dealing beneath the steep Koolaus. I talk on the phone all day. Durston graduated from the University of Hawaii 30 years ago with a biology degree. He helped a friend run a small nursery in Waimanalo, eventually taking over the operation.