Kapahulu man makes the most of the little area he has

Retiree George West doesn’t have a lot of yard at his Kapahulu home, but wherever he found an inch of space, he planted something green.

His two-story home takes up most of the flat, 4,500-square-foot corner lot, leaving only a small area for a front yard plus two lanai. A thick rock wall surrounds the property, leaving just enough space for a narrow walkway.

Everywhere you look, there’s lush, tropical foliage. West placed potted plants along the walkway and atop the rock wall. He’s created a gallery of sorts for orchids, succulents and air plants that hang vertically from frames he constructed out of PVC pipe and mesh.

West, 71, took up gardening as a hobby after retiring as vice president of operations at Ameron Hawaii seven years ago. It was actually while working at Ameron’s operations at Kapaa Quarry that he learned to garden, even taking classes at Lyon Arboretum. After excavations, Ameron was responsible for putting dirt back and replanting ground cover and trees.

“I love the peace and quiet,” he said of gardening, “and I like to see things grow.”

He’s created artistic plant art, transforming rain gutters into plant containers for succulents that run along the length of fence in front of his home. Spanish moss is draped here and there. A pair of sunglasses sits on the trunk of an old man palm by the fence.

Every day, at dawn, West is outside tending to his garden, trimming, watering and “puttering around,” as he puts it. He enjoys listening to Frank Sinatra while working. He takes a break at noon, when the sun is at its peak, and is at it again in the evening. He considers the garden his domain, and his wife, Lovena, leaves it to him as his creative space.

“I carry a glass of wine and talk to myself, talk to the plants,” he said. “The plants don’t talk back.”

For five years he’s been a member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of Hawaii. A year ago he joined the Kaimuki Orchid Society and started growing them with some success, which is evident in the garden. He admitted he’s lost a few. He particularly likes greens and whites, and variegated plants, which offer a blend of colors.

For the front yard, a small corner with a grassy lawn, West installed a Japanese-style rock garden, where he meticulously shaped a few trees, including a strawberry guava. Curly balls of Tillandsias, or air plants, hang from its branches on wire hooks.

“I like the creativity involved,” he said. “It satisfies whatever talents I might have in that area.”

A lanai area off the living room on the west side, outfitted with a table and umbrella, is what West calls the middle garden. Here West created a serene oasis with potted ti, philodendrons and a Tahitian gardenia tree that help muffle the sound of passing traffic. This is where the family dogs, Keaka and Gizzmo, like to hang out.

West, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, is the third generation to live at the property. He grew up in the neighborhood, walking barefoot to Jefferson Elementary School.

In 2007 he built the current home, replacing the one-story, 1950s home in which he grew up and raised his three children. Now it’s home to his wife, children and three grandchildren, ages 8 to 10. The youngsters sometimes help out and have requested an herb garden.

Many of the plants in his garden are gifts, like the large pot of sansevieria with large blades from Hawaii landscaper Leland Miyano. A smaller pot of African spear plants sitting on a stone bench is from longtime succulent collector Angel Ramos.

Even on the east side of the home, which is so narrow and shady you would think nothing could grow there, he’s planted some anthuriums, ferns and a row of lady palms that form a natural screen from the neighbors.

When he wants to take a break, he sits back in a lounge chair by the sidewalk to greet passers-by.

“I wanted to create something nice for me to look at and for people walking by to look at,” he said. “It’s for others to enjoy as they walk by, too.”