From an Iowa farm, where she was born, to a Kona ranchette is
not only a long ways in distance but also a very different kind
of agricultural experience. In the deep, rich soil of Iowa, one
can till and harrow with machinery, but in the lava rock of Kona,
one sometimes has to use a jackhammer to dig holes in the rock
to plant a tree. And there are no winters in Kona to kill the
weeds. All of these things, Arlene Wakefield has found out the
hard way, by trial and error, as she has developed her four-acre
farm into a productive macadamia nut orchard, with many varieties
of other kinds of tropical fruit. She has found her work not only
challenging, but also very satisfying, and she doesn't contemplate
changing her way of life again.
In 1965 she first came to the Big Island with her parents, and after a visit to Pu`uhonua O Honaunau, then called the City of Refuge, the family stopped at the highway junction at Morihara Store to get a cold drink and admire the sausage tree. The friendly store owner gave them some of his bananas, and as they were standing on his front porch admiring the view, Arlene declared, "If there is anywhere in the world I would like to live, it is right here." Her wish was granted not long after that when she found a four-acre parcel for sale within 1,000 feet of that store and purchased it. It took several years to sell her business back home in Sherman Oaks, California and move to Kona and two more years to get the house that she designed built. While building her home, now a showpiece, she developed her farm. Its steep terrain and lack of soil made it hard work, but today she proudly shows off her mangoes, coffee, macadamia nut trees, cherimoya, soursop, and limes and as an active member of the Kona Soil Conversation District she has proved that even the lava rock in Kona is fertile and the climate is ideal for agriculture.
When an opportunity came to purchase another five acres of a producing macadamia nut farm on the road to Pu`uhonua O Honaunau, she took advantage of it for she could see its possibilities and with the help of her friend Barry Gitelson she has been able to develop it into a nursery and botanical garden and has plans for a snack shop and craft shop before another year has gone. Already this farm, called Wakefield Gardens, has attracted visitors to admire and encourage her. An outstanding attraction is the waterfall lined with stones and the shells Arlene collected in her extensive travels throughout the world.
