New wildflower garden brings pollinators, visitors to East Capitol Campus

For the first year, Buildings & Grounds (B&G) has planted a wildflower garden on East Capitol Campus. Located on East Plaza over the 14th Avenue tunnel, the garden replaces a growth of bamboo that was harming the concrete. Not only is the garden a prettier sight, it also brings pollinators and other wildlife like hummingbirds to the campus, which benefit the environment. The project is a part of the Campus Color Initiative.

Mary Harrison, Nathan Bren and Ash Venable from B&G have all worked hard to make the garden a beautiful place for visitors.

“The campus is becoming like a park,” Mary said. “It didn’t used to be like that. But now it’s so pretty that people come to take walks and even bring picnics.”

The crew planted wildflowers from seed in late June and early July. They expect the flowers to be in full bloom by early August. Starting in October, the team will begin to plant perennials for the winter season, including rhododendrons, which increases the sustainability of this project.

B&G team members make every effort to help the environment. They avoid using pesticides as much as possible, even if it means weeding by hand. They have also been planting blueberry bushes, huckleberry bushes and apple trees that attract pollinators across the entire campus and provide a food source for wildlife and humans alike.

Between October 2019 and April 2021, B&G planted over 200 new trees as a part of the Centennial Challenge — a partnership between DES, the National Association of State Foresters and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to plant 100 new trees on the Capitol Campus by 2020. The agencies met their goal and kept on going.

Thank you to B&G crews for all your hard work in making Capitol Campus a wonderful place for our citizens and our environment.