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Base horticulturist finds it 'easy to be green'

  • Published
  • By Joy Ovington
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  Jane McCarthy knows plants. She will tell you she has a "green disease," and that if she gives it to you, it's a good thing.

As Maxwell's horticulturist and base greenhouse director, she has a degree in Landscape Design from Auburn University, pruning sheers on her belt and is often referred to by people on base as "the Plant Lady."

Since she arrived at the greenhouse in early 2001 she has turned a little greenhouse by the Riding Stables on March Street once used by the Federal Prison Camp for educational purposes into a busy complex of several greenhouses chock full of plant life.

Something that hasn't changed is the greenhouse's objective to provide education on all sorts of vegetation to base personnel and visitors, young and old. The children come for the day to learn and get their hands dirty and watch plants grow, and retirees come from afar to browse the grounds and share tips with Ms. McCarthy. And everyone with a military identification card and has base access is welcome to leave with four to six free plants.

Ms. McCarthy says she has the best job on the base, saying "I get to educate - I get to play!" 

The greenhouses themselves are distinct and evolved through the years from facilities with broken heaters and irrigation systems to buildings in full operation. 

"The base has been very good about repairing the greenhouse and bringing it up to its current facility," said Ms. McCarthy.

The biggest news Ms. McCarthy wants to get out is that the free plant table is readily available at all times for base personnel to come and pick from. She says it helps the greenhouse. "It's a lot like selling something. The more we give away, the more we make," she said.

"I want everyone who has an affiliation with this base to know that the greenhouse is here. I know I'm not going to reach them all," she said. She especially wants the visiting students to know about the free plants.
For the most part, the greenhouse provides "social plants" such as ferns, peace lilies, and fifteen ficus trees for base functions at the Officer's Club, the chapels, promotions, retirements and parties. After the events, the plants are recycled and often come back to the greenhouse for maintenance before they ship out for another base event.

"We recycle plants, pots and soil all the time here," said Ms. McCarthy. "We don't fill the landfill, and the students can recycle their plants and pots by sending them back to us as they move on to their next base."

The only base dwelling that the greenhouse is responsible for, the residence of the Air University Commander or the Curry House, is also decorated with plants grown at the greenhouse, including plants for a heritage herb garden. Greenhouse workers tend the beds, shrubs, and trees on the porch, the summer house, and the patio. Some flower-arranging for table-decorations for the general's events is also done by Ms. McCarthy's crew.

Another example of reuse and propagation is the Officer's Club donation of the tops of their pineapples that they discard to the greenhouse. Once removed during cleaning, the top of the pineapple can be planted in soil and a new fruit-bearing bromeliad will grow in a manner similar to that of a potato or onion, which will sprout from a cutting.

A compost facility on Maxwell is very busy this time of year. It takes all of the "green" debris from the base and recycles it. All the yard waste, all the greenhouse debris, horse manure debris, straw and bedding - it is all composted. It makes a product that they give away to anyone with a military identification card. Charlie Goldsmith runs the compost facility. The phone number is 953-7478 and the facility's hours are 7:30 to 9:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Something Ms. McCarthy is attempting to do at Maxwell is use old fashioned plants that would have been here when the base was originally put in. "You can't always do that because some of them are horrific plants due to having spines on them or they're toxic. I've tried to go back to heritage plants and plants that have very little requirements of water," she said.

There are irrigation systems on the installation, but most beds need only hand-watering as all plants in beds are drought tolerant.

"The bed I love the most is the one around the B-25 in Historic Air Park at Maxwell," said Ms. McCarthy. First-time visitors park by the B-25 at the Air Park where they will immediately come upon the perennials in that bed, she said.

"I am very proud of that bed. The first year I got here we planted thousands of pansies and it was not economical. In my opinion, yes, we don't have much color out there in the winter, but in the summer it's blooming with lantanas and multi-colored irises," Ms. McCarthy said.

Located in Building 1305 on Maxwell, the base greenhouse hours are 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and its phone number is 953-8986.