1. Cultivating Your Staff Garden
Gary Bice, Jr.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Director of Residence Life
Northeastern University
SUNY Fredonia
@BiceJr
2. Transitions
• Parallels
– Buying a house is like inheriting a staff/department…
but with a 30-year mortgage payment!!
– What follows are metaphors
• Disclaimer
– Any resemblance to actual events or to any
individual, group or institution is purely coincidental.
• Durations
– RD: 4 years*, 1 year, 2 years*
*inherited a staff from the same RD at two institutions!
– Director: 9 years, 2 years, 6+ years
– House: 2 years, 6+ years
6. Vision
Three Season Garden
1 Autumn Red Daylily
1 Blue Queen Salvia
3 Gay Butterflies Butterfly Plant
1 Variegated Weigela
1 Black-Eyed Susan
1 Dwarf Burning Bush
3 Mixed Hardy Primrose
2 Pink Mist Scabiosa
1 Forever Pink Hydrangea
3 Mixed Lungwort
3 Shades of Autumn Fantasia Mum
3 Golden Harvest Fantasia Mum
3 Cranberry Apple Fantasia Mum
Only 26 plants for about a 10’ x 12’ area.
7. Vision
• Can you completely overhaul everything at
one time to create your finished vision?
• Of course…but...
– Very expensive
– Won’t necessarily be sustainable
– Will burn a lot of bridges
– We’re talking about people…and rules
8. Observe
• What type of soil do you have for a
foundation?
• Is it loose, well drained, healthy?
• Is it sandy, rocky, hidden stones?
• Is it firm, unyielding clay?
9. Observe
• What comes up when?
– You don’t know what’s hidden under the
surface.
• Who starts off strong, then fades?
• Who is in it for the long haul?
• Who is willing to adapt?
• Who is resistant to change?
• Who are the late bloomers?
10. Obstacles & Decisions
WEEDS
• What is a weed and what will be a nice plant?
• Common types:
– Plentiful, shallow roots, easy to pull, but sneaky
– Deep roots, bigger presence, difficult to dislodge
• Elimination:
– Chemicals or other immediately disruptive force
– Patience, diligence, persistence
• Are you willing to overlook or even embrace a
few?
11. Obstacles & Decisions
PRUNING
• Really have to know the plant
• Some can be cut down to the ground annually
and recover; and often come back nicer and
stronger
• Some you have to be intentional and only cut
old growth; others you have to remove the
sucker shoots that come along and deprive
nutrients
• Some can only take gentle, sparing cuts or else
it dies
12. Obstacles & Decisions
TRANSPLANTING
• Can some of the plants already in place be
moved to another location?
• Which of the plants can be easily divided
and shared with other areas?
• Will the new location be a place where it can
survive and thrive?
• When is it time to say enough is enough and
recycle?
13. Obstacles & Decisions
PESTS!!
• Some are beneficial & necessary: bees, lady
bugs, spiders
• Some not so much: stink bugs, termites,
Japanese beetles, skunks, raccoons,
…and Bill Murray’s nemesis…
14. Groundhogs!
• Well established territory
• Consistent in their behavior
• Resistant to attempts to modify or
discourage their presence
• Hidden tunnels, resources & connections
• Learn to co-exist or force the issue
15. Summary
• Determine the long term vision
• Observe
• Learn your soil/foundation
• Take care of the weeds
• Be intentional with the pruning
• Know where best to transplant
• Manage the groundhogs
16. Tips
• Food & water
• Learn their cycles
• Companion planting
• Limited resources?
17. Compost!
• Ultimate in sustainability
• Throw stuff into a pile and it breaks down,
mixes, matches and becomes natural
fertilizer
• Professional development from within
18. Tips
• Food & water
• Learn their cycles
• Companion planting
• Limited resources? Compost
• Patience
• Get Zen with the lawn mower…even when
things are going smoothly, it may suddenly
freeze up on you