By Laine Penney
Have you ever paid close attention to the greenery around campus? There are countless garden beds with wide varieties of plants, growing tall among the buildings. Here at Benicia High School, we are grateful to have this biodiversity, as the large range of flowers and plants make our campus colorful and beautiful.
Our campus has a unique variety of plants, shrubs, and flowers, one of them being Black-eyed Susan Vines. They’re small orange flowers with black centers that can be found in places such as the Student Center and near the library. It’s a season annual, and is fast growing, quickly covering the structures around campus and decorating them with an orange hue.
Another type of plant that hangs over structures is the Crimson Bottlebrush, which can be found near the entrance to the PAB on campus. It is an evergreen shrub that is very drought tolerant, meaning it can stand Benicia’s dry air. In fact, many plants on campus are drought tolerant, such as the various stonecrop plants that are found all around campus, meaning they don’t need to be watered frequently. Therefore, our water resources are not highly consumed by taking care of these plants.
Just outside the library, there are Busy Lizzies, a species of impatiens, which are small flowers that come in a wide range of colors. On our campus, we have white, red, and purple Busy Lizzies. They are also easy to grow and are very long lasting. As you walk from the library to the B-wing, there are even more flowers and plants thriving in one long garden bed. This bed consists of oxeye daisies, coneflowers, susan vines, morning glories, and blue plumbagos. You can spot all the colors of the rainbow in this area.
Although these plants are easy to manage, drought tolerant, and long lasting, that does not mean that they don’t need to be taken care of. The staff at BHS makes sure to monitor these plants, ensuring that they remain colorful and healthy.
These plants help make our campus lively and beautiful, but they’re not exclusive to our school. You can find some of these plants not just in Benicia, but many places in California. When you walk around town, see if there are any plants or flowers you can name!
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