Blooming On Kauai

Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. I was humbled, surprised and incredibly proud when I learned that the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) would present me this award at the Leaders Forum in St. Thomas on January 13.

At No Ka Oi Landscape Services, we consider ourselves an important business partner to those Kauai properties we serve. We know that the professional landscaping we provide can and will contribute to the success of a commercial property — here are a few examples and a few more.

We also recognize it’s not the only factor for success. Many of our clients are associated with the hospitality industry. The owners and managers at these properties constantly have to rethink the way they do business — adapting all the time to meet guest demands and emerging trends.

Speaking of trends, it’s always good to stay out in front of them. That said, we wanted to share with you some of the most pertinent hospitality trends for 2016 — all of which echo what we’re hearing when we talk to our clients and their guests.

A talented, dependable team is the secret to our success at No Ka Oi. People make it happen here, whether we’re starting a new commercial landscaping project from the ground up, updating an older property to bring it into modern times, or enhancing the landscape that is already there.

Our crews are everyday heroes. They work around challenges and help bring landscape plans to life.

Now with the No Ka Oi Enhancements Division, our landscape architect Roland Breclau is leading a team that’s dedicated to beautifying spaces — adding that fire pit, changing the plant palette — for our existing commercial maintenance clients.

When we’re planning a landscape, we always consider what it will take to keep that property looking perfect in the long-term. This means careful plant selection and understanding how a property’s location on Kauai impacts the soil, wind and temperature.

Here, we’d like to highlight five commercial landscaping projects on Kauai we completed in 2015. These are just a sampling of the design and installation work we do.

Tourists and commercial property owners often ask us, “What are the best botanic gardens in Kauai?”

Visitors to our garden isle want to soak in the lush and breathtaking views that Kauai offers; they want to tour tropical gardens with exotic plants that tell a story of our past.

Community is the core of No Ka Oi. Our roots are here in Kauai. We built our business from the ground up on this island; we provide careers for Kauai people; our work contributes to the beauty of the Garden Isle.

This community means everything to us, and its people are our family. That’s why honoring and giving back to our community is incredibly important to us.

We are so proud that No Ka Oi Landscape Services’ Abby and Frank Santos were recently honored with a 2014 Kauai Museum Living Treasures awards, honoring those on Kauai who have dedicated their lives to serving the community.

The storied Tree Tunnel in Kauai serves as a grand gateway to Poipu Beach—a popular tourist destination where No Ka Oi first got started in business. The mile-long stretch is lined with some 500 Eucalyptus trees, growing more than 100 feet tall, that form a lush, green canopy over the roadway. If you turn off Highway 50 on to Maliuhi Road, you’ll enter the Tree Tunnel and eventually reach the historic Koloa Town.

The Tree Tunnel’s Eucalyptus trees are an attraction for locals and visitors. They’re graceful and resilient, having survived two hurricanes.

There are several renditions of the trees’ origin, but we know they are about a century old. The original trees were planted in 1911 as a gift to Kauai from Walter Duncan McBryde, co-founder of McBryde Sugar Company and manager of Kauai Pineapple. (He was known as the Pineapple Baron.) The trees were leftovers from his estate home, which is now Kukuiolono Park & Golf Course.