IU's beautiful campus flourishes with the many flowers blooming in Bloomington

Walking around the IU campus, students might overlook many things. They might not see the nearly transparent fish in the Jordan River, the pastel chalk scribbles on the sidewalks or the intricate stone chiseling on the Chemistry Building. It is virtually impossible, however, to fail to notice the campus's beauty.\nThe flowers on campus are an integral part of its attractiveness, with IU regarded as one of the top five most beautiful schools in the country by a widely-used guide to campuses, Thomas Gaines's "The Campus as a Work of Art." \nThough it is easy to appreciate the campus's beauty while walking around the school, few know the amount of time and effort it takes to create the floral arrangements which help make campus so beautiful.\nThe sheer amount of flowers on IU's campus set a tone for much of the landscape. Roughly 400 flower beds, 12 to 15 flower varieties and 50,000 annuals adorn the campus, said Mike Schrader, Campus Division interim manager. \nCared for by four full-time employees, every last tulip and mum passes through several stages before it is placed permanently in the Indiana sunlight. \nGetting flower arrangements from the point of being seedlings to a campus decorator is a three-step process involving many people. Each flower must be grown, cared for and planted before it officially becomes part of an arrangement. The work falls under the control of IU's Physical Plant, and it is taken very seriously.\n"There is a lot of emphasis on how the campus looks, and we put a lot of stock in it," Schrader said.\nOne of the trickiest elements of flower arrangement is the flowers must be grown before they can actually be planted. Schrader said if seeds were simply put in the ground, they would take too long to grow, and there could be no assurance as to how they came out.\n"One of the things that (may put IU) ahead is the fact that we grow all our plants in large containers first," Schrader said. "We vigorously culture, water and fertilize them,"\nWhile Schrader deals primarily with the selection and purchase of flowers, the majority of their growth and care takes place at four off-campus greenhouses.\n"I help maintain the greenhouses, water the plants and get the flowers out on campus. (We want to) keep making this place look good and maintain Indiana values," Nursery Supervisor Carl Scott said. \nEven though there is a set procedure to grow, plant and care for flowers throughout the year, there are many things that can go wrong.\n"Growing (the plants) is a four-month process. (We face problems with) water, bugs and disease. A plant cannot tell you what's wrong -- growing them is an art in itself," Scott said.\nFifteen years ago, IU switched systems; the Campus Division of the Office of Material Services used to purchase all flowers fully grown. Scott said growing the flowers right near campus cuts the floral budget almost in half. \nThough growing the flowers near the premises might increase the workload of several employees, much of the rest of the cycle of arrangement, planting and care remains unchanged.\n"It is one thing to grow the flowers -- deciding what to do with them is another thing all in itself. Each arrangement must be carefully designed, and the designs change from year to year. \nFloral designer Marshall Goss mainly decides "what goes where." He travels all over the country in search of arrangements and styles that would look good on campus. Most recently, he returned from a trip to Illinois where he looked at trials and displays, getting ideas for new things to try at IU.\n"We always try to introduce new things grown rarely or not at all in this part of the country," said Goss. "This year, we used angel-winged begonias in a new way; we are really proud of our (flower) beds on the 46 Bypass near the football field parking lot. Next year, we are introducing eight new plants. We are really proud of how everything's come together -- 23 years ago we had 43 beds. Now we have 400." \nThis week, Goss will travel to Michigan to look at four sites before he makes his final selections for next year. An impatiens called "firefly" and a new geranium are among the plants he plans to introduce next year. He also plans to keep a few varieties secret.\nDeciding how to arrange a group of flowers is about more than simply making sure they look pretty. The type of flowers that are viable depends completely on the time of year -- and even after the buds are sorted by season, not everything looks good together. \nFlowers do not just have to match each other, they are also chosen for arrangements based on how well they go with buildings and other immediate surroundings. Goss noted certain types of plants look better with limestone, others with brick and others with concrete. Arrangements can be placed in grassy areas, meadows and, as is the case with the tulips by the Sample Gates, in the midst of a pathway. \n"(In our designs), we always try to incorporate color and texture," said Goss.\nTypically, tulips and pansies are planted in the spring and mums and other annuals in the fall. Mild winters are better for the flowers; extremely cold ones can easily kill off everything. Last winter was fairly warm, however, and the planters were excited tosee many pansies survived and were actually sticking up out of the snow.\n"(We) try to get as many months of color as possible, given the weather," said Schrader.\nAfter the plants are grown and arrangements designed, they must actually be planted. Putting flowers in the ground, as well as many aspects of the entire flower ordeal, is not as easy as it may seem. Planting can take up to a 16-person team; people are needed to till, plant, water and mulch the newly-transplanted flora.\nThough they put in many hours and lots of work, planters can be overlooked right along with the intricacies of the landscape. \nOne planter in particular, Mike McQueen, has put in more than his fair share of time on the grounds. According to Schrader, McQueen single-handedly planted about 40,000 plants over a five-week period. His co-workers had become ill and/or had to temporarily leave their jobs, so McQueen took on all the work himself.\nRegardless of how much attention campus pedestrians pay to the various steps associated with making IU beautiful, most agree they reap the benefits.\n"You can see why (IU) is consistently ranked as one of the top five most beautiful campuses," freshman Cheryl Thomas said. "When you're a freshman and get lost, it's pleasant because it's so beautiful. It reminds me of home."\nEven when one is not lost, it's not a bad idea to take a moment to stop and smell the roses -- and even when they are not roses, know the effort that it took to get them there.