Who Does That?

Each spring for over 15 years, cheery baskets of flowers have lined 13th Avenue bringing joy to passersby.

The brainchild of a previous Campus Planning and Facilities Management director, it was brought to life by retired landscape architect Jane Brubaker who this year passed the trowel to Lauren Meyer, a grounds maintenance worker.

Planning starts in January when the baskets and flowers are ordered from an Oregon nursery. The arrangements feature a lot of green and yellow for school spirit and because other colors attract aphids and moths. Some of the 30-plus baskets hang in the shade so different flower varieties are planted in those.

The morning before University Day, the annual campus beautification event, a truckload of hanging baskets is dropped off in the middle of campus. Brubaker and Meyer delegate their crew to place the correct basket in front of designated light posts. Teams of two go up in a specially modified forklift to hang the baskets. The supports that hold the 100 lb. baskets were fabricated in the metal shop by a retired employee.

The baskets are watered daily, sometimes twice during heat waves, by staff or student workers. With proper care and optimal weather, some baskets remain vibrant until school starts in the fall.

Brubaker and her team love the compliments they get throughout the season via email or from people walking by as the flowers are watered.

University Day is May 15 and activities run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. All members of the UO community are invited to plant flowers, weed beds or pick up trash.

—Jennifer Archer, University Communications