Jeff Daley, head gardener at Seattle Pacific, likes to think of the patches of colorful flowers he tends around campus as its “welcome mat.”
“I treat this place like my own backyard,” Daley said.
Daley, who has worked at SPU for 29 years, was named one of five outstanding master gardeners in King County in 2018 by Washington State University’s Master Gardener Program. The program recognizes gardeners across the state who have completed the program and who pursue excellence in their work.
Daley completed the training and classes required to earn the title of master gardener from WSU in 2010. He joined the WSU’s master gardener society not long after, and in 2011 was voted into leadership. Currently, he mentors incoming interns and teaches courses for the program.
“I have absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed being involved with the Washington State University Master Gardeners,” Daley said. “They’re a great group of like-minded people.”
As a Washington state-certified professional horticulturist, a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture, and an award-winning vintner, Daley’s passion for growing plants permeates every aspect of his life, and he does what he can to share his passion for nature with others.
Daley aims to help SPU students appreciate nature with his work on campus.
“It brings me joy when I can take God’s creation, harvest the old flowers, scatter their seeds the next year, and grow new plants,” he said. “I just love to see billowing color.”
