Northwestern’s groundskeepers are getting down and dirty.

For the past few weeks, the green-thumbed crew has battled thelast remnants of winter, trying to transform NU’s landscaping froma barren wasteland into a blooming, thriving garden.

Armed with shovels, sprays and soil, grounds crews attacked thecampus’ bald spots Wednesday morning. Piles of dirt removed fromGarrett Field acted as cover-up.

Shovel in hand, one crew member spread soil on a patchy stretchof grass in front of Norris University Center. Another rolled bywith a loaded wheelbarrow, prepared to mulch the trees near DeeringMeadow.

Todd Fechner, a lead groundskeeper, said Deering needs extraattention because it is a high-traffic area crunched by frisbee andsoccer players.

While other groundskeepers tended to the field, Jeanne Scheller,NU’s only full-time female groundskeeper, did her best”Ghostbusters” impression.

The tank strapped to Scheller’s red-flannel-clad back isconnected to a sprayer she aims with lethal accuracy.

Her target: monster weeds.

“I’m trying to kill the weeds before they get big enough thatthey appear ugly,” she said.

It’s not unusual for her to spend an eight-hour day justspraying weeds. NU’s team of groundskeepers keep early hours. Theytypically work from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

But for the ushers of spring, the time is worth it.

No one ever really takes time to watch the grass grow, or tonotice that the grass has been replaced and the weeds whacked. Buteveryone walking through campus recognizes the plethora ofblossoming flowers — even if they don’t always take time to stopand smell the roses.

Fechner said he planted most of the flowers. The ivory whitedaffodils with yellow centers sprouting from stems embedded instalk-like leaves are his work.

Fechner and his crew have sprinkled the the campus with color.Small, blue flowers painted with white lines peek up from the soilnear the arch. Large purple and white cone-shaped flowers callattention to the NU sign on the corner of Chicago Avenue and ClarkStreet.

And once the flowers begin to wilt, Fechner said he will cutthem down to allow new flowers to sprout.

The grounds crew plants 30,000 to 40,000 annuals each year,which complement about 30,000 bulbs.

Arts Circle Drive alone contains 5,000 tulips in its center,with buds just beginning to bloom.

Students like Weinberg freshman Maggie Dumin said theyappreciate the way the grounds crews’ efforts have enlivened thecampus.

“During the winter everything just seems so dead on campus thatduring the spring the gardeners and landscapers try to make thecampus look more appealing,” Dumin said.

Groundskeepers reuse many flowers by removing them after theybloom in Spring Quarter and storing them in an underground bed. InFall Quarter, the bulbs are replanted, Fechner said.

The grounds crews also take care to protect their buddingblooms.

Despite ropes put up to guard newly tilled and seeded soil,Fechner said a few students still walk through these areas. Tilledsoil can sink in three or four inches if stepped on.

“I guess (students will) learn when they lose a shoe orsomething,” he said.

Students aren’t the only hazard.

On Wednesday, veteran groundskeeper Nigel Chesters supervised acrew reseeding the grass by Norris with salt-tolerant seeds.

The grassy plots between Norris and the University Library tookan extra beating this year from increased salting and heavy winds,Fechner said, pointing to shrubs with browned edges.

Grounds Services foreman Tim Spahn said to compensate for theexcessive damage, crews replaced about 200 shrubs this year.

Though it’s frustrating, groundskeepers said the replacementprocess has one benefit.

“It’s job security,” Fechner joked.

Fechner said many students don’t seem to appreciate the servicesthe grounds crews provides. People don’t realize the Chicago andEvanston campuses are kept cleaner than most other campuses andeven hospitals, he said.

Scheller said the grounds crew deals with unreasonableexpectations — such as being asked to clear every snowflake duringa winter storm.

But through snow, heat and rain, NU’s crews continue to work –and especially are happy to turn April’s showers into May’sflowers.

“My good days and bad days are weather dependent,” Schellersaid. “(But) this time of year, every office worker wants myjob.”