Tacoma — A 150-year-old horticulture program at Western State Hospital is losing its greenhouse next week to make room for a new hospital at the Lakewood institution. Like a pruned geranium, it will bloom again, say its managers.
But first, what do they do with the monstrous foxtail agaves?
The 40-year-old plants are centerpieces in the greenhouse that until recently employed 30 patients who work up to 20 hours per week at minimum wage. The jobs provide therapy and teach skills.
“The benefits of this vocational rehab program are endless,” said Karen Dimmitt, greenhouse director. “People start out timid and now are confident in their skills.”
The greenhouse needs to go, the state Department of Social and Health Services says, because it stands in the way of a new forensic hospital. When legislation is signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, $895 million will go to fund the project expected to be completed in 2027.
The legislation includes funding for a new greenhouse on Western State’s campus. Building should commence within two years, said Nancy Herber, vocational rehabilitation therapies supervisor.
Therapy
Western State has a number of vocational programs, said Shamyka Sutton, chief clinical officer.
“Our pride and joy has always been the greenhouse,” Sutton said. “It’s been a staple here for a very long time.”
Sutton said both the civil and criminal patients who work in the greenhouse have strong abilities they can use once released.
“We want to encourage them to build upon those and and reenter into the community with a fresh mindset and new opportunities for growth and living lives that are beneficial to them, their families and the community,” she said.
The patients come to work in the greenhouse with a focused plan, Dimmitt said.
“They are held accountable. They’re part of a community program,” she said. “This program provides that stepping stone for them to treat this like a retail business in a lot of ways.”
Patients plant seedlings, and care for plants and vegetables. Extra vegetables are donated.
Sale
Patients have been selling many of the 1,000 plants in the greenhouse over the last week. On Friday, only a few dozen sunflowers, zinnias and Douglas firs remained. The sales generated more than $12,000, which be used for supplies and plant stock for the next generation of plants, Dimmitt said.
Until a new greenhouse is built, patients will shift to work in outdoor horticulture areas.
Legacy plants
Decades-long residents of the greenhouse include a variety of tropical and semi-tropical plants including four 40-year-old foxtail agaves that each weigh several hundred pounds.
Patients cleaned and clipped the needle-like tips of the plants’ leaves and removed pesky bugs.
The plants, in heavy concrete containers, proved challenging to relocate until the state Department of Corrections facility said they would house them in Shelton where inmates can care for them.
The plants, which die after they bloom, will return to the new greenhouse at Western State, Dimmitt said.
