Scott Bassett brings beauty to the parks 30,000 plants at a time

Scott Bassett brings beauty to the parks 30,000 plants at a time 

Blink and you’ll miss it. Each May, practically overnight and without fanfare, Tacoma parks burst into bloom. Flower beds that were bare just days before are suddenly full to bursting with flowers and foliage. There’s a lot that goes into this incredible transformation, and the work begins before most people have even taken down their Christmas tree. 

Rows of plants bask in the warm, controlled environment of the greenhouse.

The greenhouses are tucked away in central Tacoma, adjacent to the Tacoma Recycling and Transfer Center (TRTC), but the unassuming buildings are surprisingly sophisticated. There’s more than 12,000 square feet of growing space, much of it carefully monitored by a system that can autonomously adjust boiler heating, ventilation windows and overhead shade sails to maintain optimal humidity, temperature and light conditions. Wide, flat-topped benches can be easily shifted on rollers which removes the need for permanent walkways and expands growing space by almost 15 percent. Combine that with Horticultural Technician Scott Bassett’s 40-plus years of greenhouse experience, 33 of which have been with Parks Tacoma, and the results are stunning.

It’s around Mother’s Day, just a few weeks before the plants are expected to head to their respective beds, when the greenhouses are at their fullest.  

“We have about 30,000 three-and-a-half inch plants in the facility right now,” said Bassett. “We try to time everything to finish at the same time. We want a good-sized plant and for the majority of them to have color so when the beds are planted it creates an instant splash.” 

Timing the plants to be ready together is a tricky feat that requires careful planning and research, and a little bit of math. The process begins at the end, picking the date when the plants will be installed in the parks, and goes backwards from there. If the goal is to have plants in the ground by week 21 of the year, and a certain flower takes 18 weeks to grow from seed to bloom, then it needs to be started by week three. The process is repeated dozens of times until everything is scheduled exactly. 

“The tuberous begonia takes the longest. The first pots are planted around the first of the year,” said Bassett. “Meanwhile the marigolds and zinnia we planted just four weeks ago.” 

Horticulturalist Scott Bassett tending to plants in the greenhouse.

Bassett says they grow about 75 percent of their plants from seed. Most of the rest are propagated using cuttings from in-house stock plants and a few others are starts purchased from other nurseries.

The wide variety of plants is another logistical balancing act that Bassett navigates every year. Each of the major planting sites are designed by the maintenance staff who work in the park, and each of the parks has a different number and size of spaces to fill. 

“We try to get them exactly what they need,” explained Bassett. “It can range anywhere from 3,000 plants to just 100 if they only have one little area. It’s more challenging than in a commercial greenhouse where you’re just growing a lot of one thing, but it’s worth it to be able to get a really diverse landscape presentation out in the parks.” 

Each year there are a handful of new plants that Bassett and the greenhouse staff have to research and work into the growing plan. One that he’s most excited about this year is a torenia kauai, pronounced like the Hawaiian island, a shade-loving plant with colorful blooms that attract hummingbirds and other pollinators.  

“We’re going to trial them at Point Defiance and hope that the deer don’t love them,” Bassett said with a laugh.

In the next greenhouse over from all the individual pots, another 3,000 square feet is dedicated to growing 230 hanging baskets that will soon appear in places like Wapato Park, the lodges at Titlow and Point Defiance Park and along Ruston Way. Others will fulfill contract orders with Tacoma’s Downtown Business Association and the City of Tenino, and a few, along with any of the surplus potted plants, will make their way to the upcoming Point Defiance Flower & Garden Festival for public sale.

By early June the vast majority of the plants currently taking up the two largest houses will be out the door and on display, but that doesn’t mean there’s time for a break. 

“We’re always working a bit ahead,” said Melissa Carter, who recently joined Bassett as the second full-time horticulturist at the greenhouses after 15 years at part-time. 

Even before the last spring plant is out the door Bassett and Carter will begin taking cuttings from stock plants to begin growing the exhibition chrysanthemums planned for the W.W. Seymour Conservatory’s fall flower show. Then in July it’s on to winter. 

“Before you know it, we’ll be doing poinsettias again,” said Bassett. “We get them as rooted cuttings and they are easily the hardest crop.”  

The poinsettias require up to 14 hours of complete darkness each night for the plant to grow its iconic foliage. It’s not an easy feat when summer sunsets can stretch on until 9 p.m. but their hard work pays off when the Conservatory’s winter flower show opens with dazzling color. 

Everything that happens at the greenhouse is a labor of love, not only for Bassett and Carter but for their small-but-effective group of volunteers.  

“We have such a diverse mix of seasonal help that gets everything done,” said Bassett. “We wouldn’t be able to do it without them.” 

Volunteers help with moving the thousands of plants from inside the greenhouse to the outdoor growing area to harden off before planting. Sometimes they fill new seed trays with soil for planting or wash the empty plastic pots that come back after a big installation to clean them for reuse and minimize waste. 

A TPS student volunteer waters flowering plants in the greenhouse.

Some come through schools or skill-development programs and others are community members who simply want to give their time to the work that goes on there. No matter your experience level, Bassett said there’s something for everyone to do and they’re grateful for the help. New volunteers are always welcome to join and can sign up through Parks Tacoma’ volunteer portal. 

That labor of love also shows in staff and volunteer’s commitment to sustainable and chemical-free practices whenever possible. Pots are washed and re-used until they fall apart, and soil is refreshed for a second or third round of nursery plants before being distributed to park planters, but one of the biggest changes just happened recently. In the past year the greenhouse has become almost exclusively chemical-free for pest control, relying instead on beneficial insects like lacewings and aphidius, a non-stinging wasp that’s almost too small to see with the naked eye. 

“We get a shipment of good bugs every couple of weeks,” said Bassett. The cost is higher, but the environmental impact is worth it. Plus, he explained, some pests can develop a resistance to chemicals in as little as a generation or two while introducing their natural predators has provided a long-term solution. “So far so good.” 

And for all the good that’s going on under those translucent roofs, Bassett says he, the staff, and the volunteers can’t take full credit.  

“This is the people of Tacoma’s doing, who vote to support the parks district,” he said. “Thank you.”