Mattea McDaniel, Special to The Denisonian

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink flowers decorate Denison’s landscape. There are a wide variety of plants that brighten the campus and enable it to be deemed an arboretum. 

The team of people on campus that are tasked with beautifying the campus are led by Ann Sheffler Cherry, senior horticulturist; Dan Freeman, lead groundskeeper; and Jake Preston, director of Physical Plant and Capital Improvements.

Their hard work and determination are tested when the deer—or according to students, “Denison Venison” —choose to make the flowers a part of their meal. The grounds team does their best to fight against the animals and to work with the budget they are allotted. The plants they choose can be a hit or miss. They may be labeled as deer resistant, but the deer must have found an extra big appetite for how many plants they like to eat on campus. 

Some of the plants in the ground include verbena, lantana, impatiens, ornamental onion, and lavender. All are under the category of deer repellent, yet the deer still seem to enjoy the colorful plants. 

“All three of the entranceways, I’ll have red. I tried to put red in certain places but I can’t get the flower material to last because of the deer problem. For instance, there’s sun impatiens- there’s white sun impatiens and red sun impatiens. The deer eat the red sun impatiens; they don’t eat the white sun impatiens. So you just have learned this over time. And then like I said, even when they don’t eat it, then the one year they’ll come and they’ll eat it,” said Cherry. 

For the team to fulfill the various responsibilities that come with being a part of the grounds team, they need certain levels of knowledge and understanding with the things they are handling. 

Ohio State University offers conventions that, upon completion, provide certificates covering turfgrass and horticulture. Freeman received his certificate in turfgrass and Cherry got hers in horticulture. They also go through PGMS—Professional Grounds Management Society—to be licensed. These classes for the certificates teach them basic skills for their jobs and allows them to legally carry out certain tasks day-to-day. 

The team at Denison is composed of groundskeepers, ground leaders, horticulturalists, landscape architects, and directors. Given that there are so many jobs that all have different tasks, there are several projects going on throughout the year. 

Preston said that everyone has their own responsibilities, yet “the whole team jumps in[to],” different projects when needed. Never does a day go by that the job stays the same; it is not routine.

 “Everyday is different for sure,” said Preston. 

One of the hardest parts of this job is the lack of true control. Weather plays greatly into what the team’s tasks look like throughout the week, and how much harder or easier they are, too. Different factors every day result in the job changing in slight ways to accommodate.

 “You’re relying on things outside of your control as a plant grower,” said Preston. 

The deer get into the plants, frost shows up at any given time, bugs and fungi can take over and kill the plants, and other unforeseen circumstances cause the team of grounds workers to be ready for any situation they may be needed to assist with. 

The grounds team and those affiliated with them work around the clock to keep Denison looking beautiful spring, summer, fall, and winter alike. The campus is always taken care of regardless of the weather, budget, wildlife, lack of employees, etc. The team puts in the work and helps each other with situations outside of their own responsibilities.