In front of Seattle University’s Pigott Pavilion, one may notice a new patch of earth. With Japanese paper plants and Canadian sword ferns growing, these newly planted roots encompass a story that expands beyond campus lines. This latest garden project by Seattle U’s dedicated team of gardeners, working under Seattle U’s grounds community, was designed with the intention to honor international students’ home countries and bring global biodiversity to the university’s landscape, fostering a space that celebrates both culture and nature.
Samuel Guccione was the head gardener for this specific project. He explained that the idea came from the simple problem of needing to get rid of some weeds, but it quickly became a bigger project once Guccione realized the space had the potential to become more impactful and lasting.
“Since the International Student Center and MOSAIC Center are right there, I saw an opportunity to create something that reflects our international student body,” Guccione said.
8% of Seattle U undergraduate students are international, with 78 countries being represented in the student body. With the hope of representing specific countries with particular plants, Guccione contacted the International Student and Scholar Center (ISSC) for demographic data. He was given a list from Dale Watanabe, director of ISSC, containing information for the top countries represented at Seattle U, which includes India, Vietnam, Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia.
With this list, Guccione went out looking for plants from these countries that would be able to grow and thrive in Seattle’s climate. This entailed carefully reviewing planting guides, sourcing rare seeds and planning how each species would interact with the others in a shared space.
“Some of those plants need pretty specific areas,” Guccione said. “Some of it’s going to fail. But the goal was to represent each country, and we have backup options if anything doesn’t take.”
Guccione described some of his favorite species growing in the garden, which include a ground cover called wild ginger from China. But he also put in a wild ginger native to the PNW area, and so both of them are growing side by side.
Helping him in the process of creating the garden was Helen Manny, who is also part of the main campus gardening team at Seattle U. She worked with Guccione on co-sourcing plants and creating a layout.
“Sometimes we just need something to go into a space so that weeds aren’t going to grow or so that people aren’t going to make a path through a bed and so we’ll just pull something that we have from our nursery, and sometimes we will plan more than that, but this was different,” Manny said.
Due to initial limitations of knowledge, Manny noted how it was challenging for her and Guccione to find plants from international countries. They had to look harder for the plants than they usually did and went from nursery to nursery looking for exactly what they needed.
The International Garden, taking its roots, was made possible by student workers like Third-year Civil and Environmental Engineering Major Mira Martin. She explained that it was a hands-on experience. Prepping soil, digging up roots and bringing in mulch were all parts Martin was involved in, all while learning more about sustainability in action.
“I think it’s a really good experience, especially for students like me who are studying something in the environmental field. I am able to relate my coursework to the hands-on work I do with the gardeners,” Martin said.
Having opportunities to work directly and closely with the different gardens and green areas around campus has been an invaluable experience for Martin, who hopes to pursue a career in sustainability that involves plants and restoration work. She is potentially interested in urban designs for rooftop gardens and other green design projects.
She also shared how special this project was among others.
“We don’t usually get to see this level of intentionality. With this garden, it’s not just about planting what looks nice, there’s a reason for every choice,” Martin said.
Manny shared that the level of interaction with students, faculty and other passersby was full of excitement and curiosity, and it made her feel like she was part of something bigger. The conversations sparked by the space have helped turn gardening into a form of community dialogue.
Seattle U’s campus is a unique piece of land in the middle of Capitol Hill, which the gardeners have transformed into a green sanctuary. The purpose of this particular garden in front of the Pavilion, with the flags of each plant’s nation waving in the wind, is to offer comfort and recognition to the international students. It’s a symbol of the dedication Seattle U and its faculty have to the student body, to inclusion and to the stories that bloom in shared soil.
