Tuesday, November 30, 1999

Gardeners create tropical delight at A&M-CC

John Kennedy/Caller-Times

Ground services manager Randy Haaker (center) stands with Samuel de la Rosa (left) and Pedro Castillo Zuniga.

In the spring and fall, hummingbirds flock to the tropical sanctuary of the Hector P. Garcia plaza at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. In the summertime, butterflies dance around the plaza's oleanders and cape honeysuckles.
   And just about any day of the year, from early morning to late evening, students and staff congregate underneath swaying banana trees or fragrant blooms, the landscaping a perfect backdrop for some quiet reading, last-minute cramming or a coffee break.
   Although the university has a staff of 14 groundskeepers, Randy Haaker, manager of grounds services, says the campus wouldn't be such a beautiful haven without the green-thumb talents of 65-year-old Pedro Castillo Zuniga and 62-year-old Samuel de la Rosa. The two are solely responsible for the plaza and nearby courtyards that are considered the heart of the university.
   "They are absolutely the very best when it comes to those high-maintenance areas in the campus core," said Haaker, who with Richard Adamson, the university's manager of construction services, designed the Garcia plaza. "I wish we had more people from town coming out here to see what we have to offer."
   The plaza project began in 1993, was completed in June 1996 and features a statue of Garcia, a civil rights leader. The plaza flourishes with papaya, banana, mesquite and palm trees. An explosion of colors and textures comes from a variety of flowering bushes and plants, including the bougainvillea, dwarf poinciana, hamelia, fireman's cap, nopales and lantana and flamingo hedges.
   So lush is this garden spot that weeding, watering, trimming and fertilizing is an everyday or every-other-day affair, depending on time of year. And so good are Zuniga and de la Rosa at what they do that their work helped the university this month to receive an award from the Beautify Corpus Christi Association.
   Admirers often ask the men about their gardening secrets, but there are none, said de la Rosa, who has been with the university 24 years. It's just a lot of work.
   "I don't even talk to the plants, but I do talk to Garcia as I work around the grounds."
   Zuniga and de la Rosa have worked with each other so long, "that we're worse than brothers," said Zuniga. "He's like my father and I'm like his. Sometimes we argue in the morning and then in the afternoon, over little things like having left a gardening tool where we weren't supposed to."
   Their winning partnership, however, will come to an end when Zuniga retires in January.
   "Our lives have been spent here," Zuniga said. "It's been an honor, and I'm glad knowing that what I leave behind many others will enjoy in years to come."
  
  
 

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