'Io Landscaping and Design

About 'Io Landscaping and Design

Morning on the Hualālai slope arrives sideways, light spilling down the mountain long before the mauka clouds have made up their minds. 'Io Landscaping and Design works the upcountry lots above Kaiminani, where cinder sits an inch under the turf and every green lawn is a small argument won against the rock. The work is mowing, edging, trimming and cleanup — done so a yard reads clean from the road and clean from the lānai chair. There is a hawk that rides the thermals over this stretch of Kona in the late morning, unhurried, circling wide, and the crew keeps about the same tempo: one steady pass after another. By the time the afternoon clouds stack up over the summit, the edges are cut sharp and the clippings are gone.