Summer of 1997, brilliant colors greeted visitors to the north campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. These are some of the wildflowers that were seeded during the spring. The first, second and fourth above are Cosmos. The third is a Plains Coryopsis. By fall, they were in full bloom. Some re-seeded themselves for the 1998 season, but the plan is to start a transition from annuals to perennials, with perennials dominating by the third year. By the fourth year, the native shrubs and grasses will be more prominent, also.

This part of the campus serves as the location of the Medical School, public television station KNPB-TV, and the University's Service Center. The rest is a collection of parking lots. The Buildings and Grounds people at the University recognized that it was in need of beautification. We're pleased they called on Interpretive Gardens, Inc. to do the job.

Flowers and newly planted trees beautify what once was barren ground in front of the university's service center.

Similar plantings line the sidewalks around the building, which is used for such infrastructure services as mail, shipping and receiving, and printing.

A section of the campus which had been relatively undeveloped has become a major "gateway" to the university, as many students park here and catch shuttle buses to locations near their classes.

Our mission was to accomplish the beautification project in a way that would not be costly to maintain. We chose a bio-regional theme, using river rocks to line drainage ditches and planting trees, shrubs and flowers that require little irrigation.