Outdoor Services Crew

Friday, January 7, 2011

Grounds Staff Begin Planting Spring Bulbs

After a long mild fall, the Boulder campus has finally gotten enough killing frosts to allow groundkeepers to remove the summer plant material from beds.  Over the past three to four weeks as beds became available, dead vegetation has been removed and each bed that is to receive spring bulbs has been top dressed with soil amendments and turned over. 

The planning process for the spring bulbs began in August, when supervisors got together with the Grounds staff and requested suggestions for beds that would have the highest public exposure to not only visitors on the campus, but also to the general public passing by the campus on Boulder streets.  Once the beds to be planted have been selected, the staff then decides what the bed should look like in terms of plant type, color, blooming time and duration.  Once bed planting plans have been finalized, bulbs are ordered and the Grounds staff can begin to get beds ready for planting.

Grounds staff George Wallack  (right) and Bertie Knowles inspect bulbs to assure condition and quality are appropriate.

Bertie Knowles, East Main Campus team leader,  selects and sorts bulbs into planting packages for each bed his team will be planting.