Born in Kona long before stoplights went in, Scott Seymour began arranging flowers with his mother, Sadie Seymour, when he was 10 years old. During those early years, he often did arrangements alone for local church altars. Today, he continues a 38-year commitment to decorating the altar at Kawaiaha’o church on Oahu every Easter.
During my recent visit with Scott, I heard many stories of the old days in Kona, when nearly all of the 5,000 residents knew one another. He grew up on his family’s property which was a piece of mauka land in the moeauoa ahupua’a about 3 miles north of Holualoa. The large house was a perfect setting for his Sadie’s spectacular flower arrangements and she kept the space filled with her wildly asymmetrical designs. The place was also an ideal gathering place for tea and cocktail parties and most of Kona’s residents made it there at some point. Scott grew up knowing almost everyone in town.
In addition to being a popular hostess in Kona, Sadie also dedicated time to the prospect of keeping Kona clean, green and beautiful. In 1948, she became the founding president of the Kona Branch of the statewide Outdoor Circle, an organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing our environment for future generations. After Sadie’s death, Scott was asked to design a garden on the Kona Outdoor Circle property to honor her. The garden remains, though her beautification goals for Kona have been halted as the original KOC is currently on hiatus.
While a student at Honokahau Elementary, Scott began doing more arrangements on his own. One memorable event was John Wayne’s wedding to Pilar Palette in 1954. At 12 years old, young Scott was assigned to create a wedding arrangement on short notice. Wayne had proposed marriage and scheduled his wedding to Pilar on the same day.
Things got weird when their reservation at the Kona Inn penthouse was usurped by John’s recent co-star in “The Sea Chase,” Lana Turner, who wanted to keep the suite for herself and her lovers. Scott’s flower arrangement was much appreciated though it had to be moved several times in order for Wayne and his new wife to actually enjoy it for their reception.
Scott’s mother was a creative artist with flowers. As her apprentice and assistant, Scott learned lots of different arranging styles and techniques. Mostly, Scott is known today for breaking the traditional rules of flower arranging. Traditional arrangements often consist of material that is similar in character that is placed symmetrically out from a center with diminishing gradations in size and color. Scott, on the other hand, establishes a focal point or “piko” (the Hawaiian word for navel) as the arrangement progresses and applies his creativity and imagination in combining all kinds of plant material and non-plant elements. His arrangements are often massive and flow asymmetrically from the piko using his favorite colors, shapes, sizes and species.
The Christmas arrangement he was working on when I visited had an off-center “piko” of red roses and carnations with lime green carnations tucked in and around the cascading mass of red. The arrangement flowed down one side of the container and was off-set by several spiky red Christmas heleconia near the top of the opposite side. The elements were further contrasted by the addition of Scott’s favorite flower, the obake anthurium. Their red and green colors and a few branches of fir imparted the spirit of Christmas to the arrangement.
At an age when others might consider retirement, Scott stays busy teaching classes in flower arranging and making large arrangements for private receptions or special events. He is a popular teacher at the Donkey Mill Art Center and various sites around town. Sadly, he has yet to find someone to mentor in his unique arranging style.
Scott has built a solid reputation for creative landscape designs over the years and is busy these days with several projects. He is known for incorporating unusual plant material in imaginative layouts that often include terraced levels and interesting garden art. His collection of unusual garden art makes a visit to his home a delightful experience as each area of the house contains Asian and Hawaii art and artifacts that you are unlikely to see anywhere else. Pieces like these grace nearly every design he creates.
This part of his career began as he was pursuing a degree in landscape architecture at the University of Oregon. When the original landscape architect’s design for the Keauhou golf course made it clear that he was unfamiliar with tropical plants, Scott was hired to re-design the landscape. For Scott it was a no-brainer to replace avocados and Norfolk pines with a design with more appropriate plants including coco palms and beach heliotrope.
He officially started his design business after his graduation in 1968 and quickly took on some big assignments like the Keauhou Beach and new King Kamehameha hotels. Not long after these successes, he took on another large project designing and installing a garden for the Kona Outdoor Circle to honor his mother’s memory. The property was owned by the Kona Outdoor Circle Foundation, now known as the Kona Educational Foundation. Scott envisioned a series of terraces starting with one containing native Hawaiian plants. Each tier was designed to include plants that originated in a different geographical area but are grown here. The 11 terraces beautifully enhance the 1.5 acres behind the center at 76-6280 Kuakini Highway, just south of Kailua-Kona. Some of the original purpose and design has suffered from lack of consistent maintenance but the Sadie Seymour Botanical Garden is still worth a visit.
New homeowners in Kukio and Mauna Lani often call Scott to upgrade or redesign their landscape. One recent call requested a design for a walled-in garden space to serve as an outdoor extension of the indoor living space. He chose to use a lush combination of low-growing bromeliads and greenery backed by dramatic sprays of red renanthera orchids and red-trunked sealing wax palms. The design also incorporated a Thai elephant sculpture and was set against the canvas of a light gray wall of small stones. He completed the design with a slate walking path that truly brought the tropical garden inside, to the client’s delight.
His work at the Mauna Kea bluffs added to his reputation for unique designs. Of the four he has worked on recently, none are similar. He used different plant material in unusual ways to create very different landscapes.
Nearly 50 years after launching his design business in Kona, Scott was recently acknowledged for his service to the green industry by the Hawaii Island Landscape Association. Just last month, he was granted an O’o Award at the annual HILA conference. The award was much deserved and long overdue for a unique and wonderful local treasure in flower and landscape design.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living in a dryland forest north of Kailua-Kona.
Gardening Events
Friday: “UH Master Gardener Volunteer Training Program” application deadline for the 2018 3-hour Master Gardener classes that are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23 and run through mid-April at the UH Cooperative Extension office in Kainaliu The course fee is $175. To apply or get more information. Go to http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/UHMG/WestHI/index.asp or contact Ty McDonald at 322-4884 or tym@hawaii.edu.
Farmer Direct Markets
Wednesday: “Sunset Farmers Market” 2-6 p.m. in the HPM parking lot at 74-5511 Luhia Street in Kailua-Kona (across from Target)
Wednesday &Friday: “Hooulu Farmers Market” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay
Friday: “Pure Kona Market” 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
Saturday: “Keauhou Farmers Market” 8 a.m. to noon at Keauhou Shopping Center
“Kamuela Farmer’s Market” from 7 a.m. to noon at Pukalani Stables
“Waimea Town Market” from 7:30 a.m. to noon in front of Parker School
“Waimea Homestead Market” from 7 a.m. to noon at the Waimea Middle and Elementary School Playground
Sunday: “Pure Kona Green Market” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
Plant Advice Lines Anytime: konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu Tuesdays &Thursdays: 9 a.m. to noon at UH-CES in Kainaliu – 322-4892
Mon., Tues. &Fri: 9 a.m. to noon at UH CES at Komohana in Hilo 981-5199 or himga@hawaii.edu
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