MERIDIAN, Idaho — It's not an actual city park, but the beautifully landscaped grounds of the Scentsy Commons campus in Meridian seems like one. You can stroll through the gardens, sit on the lawn or relax next to a bubbling fountain.
For this edition of You Can Grow It, Garden Master Jim Duthie visited Scentsy Commons to see the variety of plants and flowers before the end of the fruitful growing season. And who knows? Maybe you'll be inspired to create a park of your own!
You've probably driven past it -- Scentsy Commons in Meridian has very beautiful flower and plant displays, even the landscaping is gorgeous. Duthie spoke with the head groundskeeper, Carson Merrill.
Upon entering Scentsy Commons, guests are greeted with a dazzling display of blooming flowers and lush landscaping - with views of an immaculate lawn, giant floral bowls overflowing with blooms, fountains and water features, welcoming the public to come and walk the grounds.
"This area here that we're standing in actually was, or still is, zoned for a second building, and they weren't going to build it right away, so they decided to just hydroseed it, put down some irrigation, some grass seed, and it turned into a park," said Scentsy groundskeeper Carson Merrill. "I think over the years, having people use it and inviting the public into it, it's turned into more of a focal point, where you want to keep this as a park-like setting that we can invite people to."
Many of the flowers, trees and shrubs in the campus landscape are native to Idaho.
"We try to strike a nice balance between tried-and-true plants that work well and grow well here in the Treasure Valley...but we still try to add a splash of interest and color and try to push the envelope a little bit - where we try to find some microclimates where we can plant other plants," Merrill said.
Like the curious looking Corylus tree.
"So, this is commonly known as the Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. It's a Corylus, or a hazelnut variety. They are grown mostly for its bark and its branching structure because of all that twisting that we've got going on here. So, it makes for a really interesting looking tree."
The tree's unusual name comes from Harry Lauder, a popular English entertainer in the early 1900's. He would appear onstage carrying a distinctive, bent, twisted walking stick.
Shady areas throughout the gardens create the perfect environment for the shade-loving plants, such as hostas. Hostas are a tried-and-true plant that work really well in the shade. There's such a variety to them.
Fountains and water features are scattered throughout the grounds, particularly around the main patio that's a popular venue for public and private events, including weddings.
"I love water features. It's one of those things that I think draws me in, draws people in, just that natural flow of water, that sound."
Whether your patio containers are big or small, Merrill said it's okay to overload them with flowers. "You want that instant color, you want it to look thick and full - from the moment you plant it," Merrill elaborated. "When designing baskets or pottery, the saying that I like to go to is you want a spiller, a filler and a thriller."
"You have a focal point (the thriller)" -- like the tall canna lilies, and striking begonias.
"Something to fill-in (the filler)" -- like the bright sun impatiens, and the silvery dusty miller.
"Something that cascades down (the spiller)" -- like these trailing sweet potato vines.
Scentsy was founded by local couple, Heidi and Orville Thompson. The Scentsy campus is located at Eagle Road and Pine Avenue in Meridian. It's free to visit the grounds throughout the year.
"The Thompsons love giving back to the community through a variety of ways, and one of those ways is through this landscape. It's open to the public almost year-round," Merrill said.
All of the annual flowers in the beds and containers will soon be replaced with thousands of flowering bulbs that will bloom in the spring. Carson and his crew will soon begin stringing hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights throughout the grounds for Scentsy's annual holiday light display.
Watch more You Can Grow It:
See them all in our YouTube playlist here:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.