Penn State Intercom......May 24, 2001

Physical Plant groundskeepers
keep that bloomin' campus
in tip-top summer shape

By Julie A. Brink

Public Information

Stroll around University Park this time of year and you'll see blooming dogwoods, ornamental cherries blossoming on gracefully arching boughs and fragrant lilacs nodding against sunny brick walls.

The University presents its prettiest face from May through the summer months when the elms create a living canopy over the mall and the flower beds around the sundial at The Nittany Lion Inn sparkle with color. But, the campus doesn't get that pretty by itself.

"Snow, for me, is a four-letter word," said Ron Eckenroth, supervisor of grounds for the east campus and a big fan of spring on campus. He's one of the folks behind the scenes making sure the campus is postcard-perfect for special events.

Behind the neatly manicured lawns, the flower beds and ornamental shrubbery is the hard work of the Office of Physical Plant.

The groundskeeping crew works year-round keeping the campus beautiful. In the summer this means planting 26,000 flowers and then maintaining the flower beds, seeding lawns, mowing grass, pruning shrubs and caring for 11,000 trees.

That doesn't take into consideration the maintenance -- picking up cigarette butts and cleaning up trash. It takes about 48 full-time employees to keep up. In the summer, another 20 or so wage-payroll employees are added to help plant flowers and provide general landscaping maintenance. The average maintenance/
groundskeeping employee is responsible for keeping about 20 acres clean.

"We have a lot of dedicated employees here working hard to keep the campus looking nice," said Jeff Dice, supervisor of grounds for the west campus. "Their effort makes a difference when people come here. It shows through the whole facility both inside and out."

The work is a cooperative effort requiring skilled labor and support that aren't always visible on the surface. That may include rerouting water and utility lines, building walls, setting stone, grading earth and seeding lawns.

"One thing about Physical Plant is we have a wealth of trades talent in all disciplines," Dice said, noting the blending of skills that goes into making the landscape attractive.

Dice joked that to him "construction" is a nasty word. The constant changes in infrastructure, utility upgrades and capital renewal projects that put demands on both the contractors and the grounds-keepers to strike an aesthetic balance.

"The landscape crews are the guardians of the trees and plants on campus," he said. "The crews work extremely hard to keep as good a 'face' on the landscape as possible."

The campus beautification process begins in autumn when Dice and Eckenroth's crew work together with the landscape architects to discuss next year's flowers, plantings and projects. The groundskeepers take about 100 photographs of the flower beds at their peak and collectively use this album to make determinations for the next year.

Group decisions are based on what worked, what didn't, taste and personal preference. Customers also have significant input on the selection. A standing order, sent out at the beginning of the year, will include salvias, impatiens, begonias, petunias, vincas, varigated cannas and coleus. The cost is about $10,000 for flowering plants, Dice said.

Crews start flower planting about May 15 and have the bulk of the work completed within three weeks. This year, look for a blue-and-white color scheme in plantings at The Nittany Lion Inn and for beds full of tall ageratum, which "make sort of a blue cloud," groundskeeper Laura Maney said. Some of the biggest beds are on the south side of Pattee Library, in front of Ritenour Building and Old Main, as well as the beds and containers around Pollock Halls. "Keeping them watered is a task," she said.

The work is worth it to Maney. "About three weeks or so after they're in and they're filled out, it's nice just to do a drive-by and admire," she said. "It's one of the things we do that gets positive customer feedback. This is one job that makes people happy."

The University gets most of its bedding plants from outside contractors, but it does have a greenhouse and nursery where some plants are grown. On a recent visit, a row of leafy coleuses were potted up and awaiting assignment outside Ritenour Building. A number of sprouting delphiniums were destined for Schreyer House, President Graham B. Spanier's residence.

The nursery, located off Park Avenue behind the Ag Arena, is where OPP grows a number of trees and shrubs for placement around campus. Slender elms, maples and oaks stood among the evergreens in straight rows. The nursery also is a repository for salvaged plants. The groundskeepers remove plants and trees from construction sites whenever possible and recycle them at other locations.

Currently most of the flowers around the University are annuals, such as petunias, and marigolds. These bedding plants grow, bloom and die in one season. Perennials are plants where the foliage dies in the fall but grows back from the roots in the spring. The newly planted peonies at the Hintz Family Alumni Center are an example of perennials. Dice said he'd like to take the University landscaping to a higher level by using more perennials and bulbs. He hopes to add an employee whose job is working with that plant category.

New flower beds and large landscaping projects fall into the realm of the University's landscape architects, who do the designing and make sure the projects conform to University standards, Eckenroth said.

Landscaping crews from OPP also assist with student beautification projects. Two of the more visible ones are the play area at the Bennett Family Child Care Center on Pollock Road and the patio area behind Engineering West.

At the center, landscape contracting students from the Department of Horticulture are installing a walkway for the children that includes a pedestrian bridge and are landscaping the area with shrubs, trees and perennials that skirt a dry streambed under the footbridge. The plan for this area was originally developed by the students in a landscape design course. When complete, the area will be landscaped with sawtooth oaks, a hemlock, hydrangea, inkberry holly, spirea, butterfly bush, hostas, coral bells and irises, according to Dan Stearns, associate professor of landscape contracting, who is overseeing the students, along with Martin McGann, assistant professor of landscape contracting. The rest of the children's playground will be developed by a consultant. Students also are planting hemlock, red- and yellow-twig dogwoods, boxwoods and black-eyed susans near the entry. Price range for that project is between $5,000 and $7,000, according to Judith Larkin, Physical Plant project manager.

At the Engineering West site, students built a brick patio, trellis and walkways. Plantings include boxwood, Virginia sweetspire, yellowwood trees and perennials. Including site furniture and lighting, it is estimated the project will cost between $30,000 and $35,000, according to Derek Kalp, landscape architect, who designed the project.

The project is a collaborative venture with the Department of Horticulture, College of Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Penn State Alumni Association and the Office of Physical Plant, Stearns said.

Both projects are nearing completion.

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