SALT LAKE CITY — In the spring and summer, flowers pop up all over Salt Lake City — from Main Street to Liberty Park.
But where exactly do they come from?
“So we're here on the west side of Salt Lake City, in the Jordan Park Historic Greenhouse,” said Joe Ramos, business and operations manager for Salt Lake City Parks.
While it isn’t open to the public, the greenhouses play a vital role. It's where many of the flowers seen on Salt Lake City properties begin their life.
I got a chance to go behind the scenes at this city-operated greenhouse, located at 1060 South and 900 West. Built in 1923, it’s one of six greenhouses at the location managed by the city.
“When we get these plants from a nursery they're not always ready to go outside," Ramos explained. "If we just put them right outside, the wind, the weather, the rain, all of those can have a seriously detrimental effect on their vitality and whether or not they survive.”
That’s where the City’s Parks and recreation greenhouse team comes in. The greenhouse team manages every detail—temperature, humidity, watering, and lighting—to keep the flowers thriving before they go outside.
“What we try to do is water them [flowers] two times a day when temperatures reach the 90s,” said greenhouse team member Yolanda Camarillo.
Each greenhouse is filled with at least 30 varieties of plants and flowers. According to Ramos, each variety of plant has several different sub species that will allow it to create intricate color differentiation when they blossom.
It was truly jaw-dropping to see all these colors in one place. I learned this kind of beauty is a year-round process.
“These seeds are probably started in about January or February,” Ramos said. “They get delivered to us in about April, and then here we are at the end of May, and we're still nurturing them to make sure that they are absolutely in the best possible condition.
"So before people ever see these plants at their local library or in Liberty Park or in any of the other spaces across the city. That's probably about a six month life cycle.”
When the flowers are ready to go outside, the greenhouse team delivers and plants over 60 varieties of flowers and plants to over 30 different city locations across Salt Lake City. Some locations include the International Peace Gardens, the Salt Lake City and County Building, 9th & 9th and Liberty Park.
Behind the scenes, there’s a lot more strategy involved than just digging in the dirt, Ramos explained.
Each planting location across the city is carefully chosen based on what will thrive there. Whether it’s waiting for warmer weather on the east side of Salt Lake City or avoiding shady spots too early in the season, timing is everything.
For Silvia Jimenez, a member of the greenhouse team, the joy comes from seeing the results bloom across the city.
"When we see the finished work, it's a great feeling that only those who like flowers and nature would understand," she shared.
Rachel Frost, a frequent visitor to the International Peace Gardens said she had no idea the greenhouses adjacent to the park was a city initiative.
"I’ve seen the greenhouses before and always wondered who funded it,” Frost said. “I thought maybe it was a private entity or supported by charitable donations. I didn’t realize it was a city-funded project. That’s how I think we should be spending our parks money.”
It’s a behind-the-scenes effort by dedicated hands
“Sometimes the work can be hard because of the heat,” Camarillo said. “But when you see the beautiful flowers and the colors and when people come and tell you that your work is so beautiful, everything is so worth it.”
