AUGUST 1,2006
Smoke Signals 3
Work Of Art To most people, the flowers around the casino look beautiful, but still, they are just flowers. To the casino team that selects them, puts them in the ground,
and takes care of them, they are much more. You may not realize it, but the flowers above are planted as a copy of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed stretch of stained glass.
Kirk Stuart And The Grounds Crew Keep Spirit Mountain Casino Colorful
More than 40,000 flowers cover the landscape of the casino's grounds.
By Ron Karten
It may be hard to see particu
larly because nobody is looking for it
but the flowers on the left side of
the sidewalk as you head toward the
front door of the casino are planted
as a copy of a Frank Lloyd Wright
stained glass design.
The design conies from a coloring
book given to Kirk Stuart, Grounds
Keeping Supervisor for the Spirit
Mountain Casino.
"We're in a position here where we
have free reign to do what we want,"
said Stuart.
And yet, the casino's grounds
crew generally uses "nothing out of
the ordinary" in creating its special
looks.
It is "the numbers (that) are just
staggering," said Stuart.
The department bought 30,000
daffodil and tulip bulbs that were
planted last fall for this year's spring
colors. It bought 12,500 annuals, in
cluding primroses and pansies, that
went in in May and will stay through
the summer until September or Oc
tober when the bulbs go in again for
next spring, and the Grounds crew
gets ready to bring in 2,500 poinset
tias for Christmas displays.
It's a group effort, said Stuart.
Everybody on the team gets to select
something they like. And the team
has plenty of experience.
The group includes Tim Trimpe (five
years), Zack Harmon (just started),
Becky Fox (two years), Kevin Eng
land (five years), Stephen Deek (six
years), Shirley Stuthert (seven years)
Paul Ross (nine years) and temporary
staffer Donna Curtis. Stuart himself
is four years on the job.
"I feel very fortunate to work with
the people I do," he said.
Last year, the crew tried a swirling
pattern for the flowers, but Stuart
said that it didn't work out as planned
because the design got lost as the
flowers grew.
Two years ago, the crew planted
flowers to represent an Indian
blanket design, "a series of half tri
angles," said Stuart. "The straight
lines really worked so we did that
again this year."
"At Legends," said Stuart, "they
try to have food you can't buy at any
diner, and we try to do the same thing
for 75 percent of the installation.
Twenty-five percent of the plants
in the casino are artificial silk plants,
said Stuart, but many think it's all
real.
There are about 500 plants through
out the casino, "depending on what we
have around Martha Jane," he said,
referring to the bronze sculptures of
Tribal Elder Martha Jane Sands and
her granddaughter, Gertrude, now
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Starting Lineup Grounds crew among their flowers include, from left,
Becky Fox, Tim Trimpe, Paul Ross, Zack Harmon, Shirley Stuthert, Stephen Deek,
Kevin England, Donna Curtis and Kirk Stuart. ,
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with flowers."
Inside the casino, where sunlight
is scarce, the crew nevertheless man
ages to include live plants and trees
sitting outside Legends Restaurant.
"I feel like we're honoring them with
our flowers."
While everybody certainly notices
the work of the grounds crew, it is
usually only elderly women garden
ers who stop and chat about the work,
said Stuart.
Flowers may be the most obvious
work that the crew takes care of,
but as Stuart said, "Basically, if it's
outside, its ours."
Pruning and maintaining trees and
shrubs is a related effort, but keep
ing the parking lots clean, including
snow and ice removal, are
also part of the job.
"Daily, the crew picks
up trash on more than 50
acres of parking lots, they
mow the lawns, paint street
lines, fertilize and land
scape around the Grand
Ronde Station and Human
Resources building.
The crew has a greenhouse
and office up from the conve
nience store by the RV park
ing lot. Plants and flowers
are started there, and odd or
rare species are nurtured.
Last year, plants supplier,
Alderbrook Gardens in Day
ton, came up with a rare cur
cuma plant. "Nobody knew
what it was," said Stuart.
Ultimately, the bloom died
out and the crew is still hop
ing to get it to bloom again
in the greenhouse.
"I sold him a bunch of baby
tears one time," said Leslie
Overgard, whose family owns
Alderbrook Gardens. He
propagated so many in his
greenhouse that he was offer
ing them back to me. Same
thing with spider plants."
"One year, he wanted lav
ender poinsettias for the Christmas
season," she said. "They're not so
popular so I had to go all over the
U.S. and Canada to find them."