UK's Resident Green Thumb

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 7, 2010) - Tucked away behind Commonwealth Stadium, amidst tractors, trailers and 4x4s lays an oasis of geraniums, impatiens and trailing petunias, just waiting for their time in the spotlight.

University of Kentucky groundskeeper Bedia Collins has had a hand in each greenhouse pot--from the ground up. 

Collins began at UK four years ago and quickly became known as the 'water goddess' in a sea full of maintenance men. “Day in and day out, watering was basically what I was doing,” she said. “But as opportunities arose, I just kept trying out other things.”

Collins now plans, plants, preserves and protects at least 100 flowerbeds around campus year-round.

The process begins in January, when Collins starts UK's annuals from seed. "It's more work, but using seeds saves the university a lot of money," she explained. After the seeds germinate, Collins pots the tiny plants, waters them using recycled waste water from campus cooling facilities and waits.

But Collins doesn't sit still. She's a major cog in a wheel of tasks to perform, gardens to tend and equipment to operate. Her groundskeeping duties include snow removal as well as assistance with pretty much any outdoor campus project imaginable.

"There's always a lot to help with around here," she said. "And I'll lend a hand with about anything."

Under her watchful eye, UK's ground crew landscapes to Collins' specifications. Each season, the Barbourville, Ky., native experiments a bit more with what works in various beds around campus, taking into account which plants grow best together, as well as the light and water requirements for each flower and the bed as a whole.

"You might make some mistakes, but you just fix it for next time," she said. "And we're usually the only ones that notice."

In response to her hard work, Collins has heard nothing but good things about her campus creations. "It's simple. Flowers make me happy, and they make others happy, too," she said. "The positive comments that I get… they make me feel good about what I'm doing. Blooms are a bright spot in the day for many people."

While her job might not be the most conventional choice for a mother of two, UK's former 'water goddess' and current 'flower queen' ignores what her mother says. "I love my job; we have a great team here that works really well together," she explained. "Everyone has his or her own responsibilities, but we can also really come together to work on something."

There's not really anything about working at the Physical Plant Division that Collins doesn’t enjoy, except for maybe waking up at 3 a.m. to shovel snow, she admits. But even then, she enjoys driving the snow plow and being on campus.

Collins has come a long way from her first days at UK, and her job with flowers is far from over at the end of the summer. "Well, we'll clean the beds in August, create a few new ones in the winter, plant tulip bulbs for the spring, and then start the process all over again," she said.