Jill Coryell is that rare person who is doing exactly what she wants in life, rather than yearning for what she wants.

She creates hibiscus hybrids.

This horticulture passion has earned her a simple and appropriate nickname, "the hibiscus lady."

I accepted Coryell's gracious invitation to meet at her Mokule'ia home. Driving to the North Shore, my sense of anticipation grew proportionate to the distance as I left urban Honolulu.

Pulling into the 2-acre property, I was greeted by row after row of hibiscus hybrids.

For those unfamiliar with the vast color range of these flowers, imagine taking a rainbow in your hands, crumpling it into dazzling fragments and flinging everything onto white flowers. That is Coryell's canvas.

Coryell graduated from the University of Hawai'i with a double major in anthropology and Hawaiian studies/pre-western contact. She recently retired from United Airlines. Her devotion is now focused on a labor of love: creating hibiscus hybrids.

The outside world is aware of her expertise, and Coryell receives about 30 to 40 e-mails daily regarding hibiscus.

She generously shared her studious research on hibiscus hybridizing.

Archibald Cleghorn, father of beloved Princess Ka'iulani, reportedly returned from his honeymoon with high chiefess Miriam Likelike with hibiscus from various parts of the South Pacific. Introduced hibiscus, together with many varieties of Native Hawaiian hibiscus, formed the nucleus for the hybridizing craze sweeping Hawai'i in the early 1900s.

Starting in 1909, the Hawai'i Agricultural Experiment Station initiated propagation of hybrid hibiscus, and by 1913 had distributed approximately 100,000 plants to people around the Islands.

In 1911, the Hawaiian Hibiscus Society was established. At its first exhibition in that year, it displayed 250 hybrid hibiscus. By 1917, 2000 varieties were showcased.

During the 1920s, famous Hawai'i hybridizer John Walker corresponded with and delivered Hawai'i-hybridized hibiscus wood to numerous botanical gardens around the globe. "Hawaiian" hibiscus garnered worldwide appreciation.

Coryell's historical journey with hibiscus hybridizing has evolved from casual sales at the old Waialua Farmers' Market to her weekly stall at the Saturday Farmers' Market at Kapi'olani Community College, where people are waiting before opening time to best select from the hibiscus she has for sale.

With advance notice, Coryell will arrange for visits to her hibiscus farm. Call 637-9995.

The hibiscus lady is meticulous with her craft, and 39 out of 40 first blooms are thrown away. Human imagination barely skims the surface regarding the beauty of the flowers she keeps.