The senior gardener at South Treatment Plant sees the beauty in it all

There is probably no one who knows more about South Treatment Plant’s 90-acre property than Jim Davis. He’s been the senior gardener at the facility in Renton for more than 20 years, which gives him a granular perspective of what goes on there.  

Surrounding the acres of gray infrastructure that make up the wastewater treatment process is a landscape of lawns, gardens, and wooded areas that are Davis’s domain. Weeds, a fallen branch, a bush that needs trimming … there’s little that escapes Davis’s notice. And while he can’t always immediately take care of what he notices, he makes a mental note. Areas of high traffic are a priority, such as the gardens surrounding the main collection of buildings where staff work. In the warm months it’s getting the weeds under control, in the fall it’s the endless piles of leaves.  

Senior gardener Jim Davis at South Treatment Plant in Renton.

“There is no down season,” he says, brushing through pin oak leaves in his tall waterproof boots. “Every day is a race to see what I can get done this day.”

Landscaping outside the administration building at South Treatment Plant.

During the summer months he’s got a handful of seasonal crew members, but throughout the fall and winter months he’s a lone figure out there most days. He also gardens 20 offsite facilities, such as pump station properties, on the east side of the service area. 

On a recent day of intermittent rain, Davis cruised along in his John Deere Gator to a 2-mile walking trail that runs along the outer perimeter of the facility. The walking trail has gotten overgrown and is becoming a safety hazard — that’s been bugging him. He pulls out a pole saw and gets to work along the trail, carefully selecting overhanging branches to cut down. It’ll be many days out on the trail, weeks even, to get it the way he wants it to be. 

It just sort of happened 

Davis never dreamed of being a gardener. “It just sort of happened,” he says. He grew up in Montana and got a call one day from a U.S. Coast Guard recruiter looking for his brother. The recruiter ended up signing both of them up. Davis moved to Seattle, served his time from 1970 to 1974 and then looked around for work only to stumble upon landscaping. It suited him well.  

“I really enjoy what I do,” he says outside the Gardening Shop. “I’m totally content taking care of plants, and I want them to be taken care of the way they’re supposed to be.” 

He spots a tree whose lower branches were lopsidedly trimmed to fit around a building. “That drives me crazy,” he says. “That happened with the crew when I was not here one day.” 

Davis makes his way around the grounds at South Plant.

Eye for beauty and detail 

His eye for beauty and detail could have landed him as an artist, but after attending art school he learned that such a career would be too much of a hustle. Instead, went for a steady, dependable line of work and pursued a two-year degree in landscaping so he could help plants look their best. Art remains a regular hobby, though, and one he’s managed to combine with his paid job in a unique way. 

Davis shows off his art, which hangs in the administrative building at South Plant.

Over in the Administration building, Davis points out his artwork hanging along the hallway wall depicting the hard-hat-wearing people he sees every day at work. His technique is continuous line drawing, in which the entire image is derived from a single line, colored over with pencils and markers. All told, a single piece takes about 30-50 hours of work, he estimates. “I draw in pen, and if I make a mistake I have to start over again.” 

The artworks depict mechanics working on a fan, a utility worker checking a fire extinguisher, someone fixing a valve by the primary effluent tank, and more. Some of these subjects are still around, some have retired or moved on. He got the idea by looking around and painting what he thought would resonate with his colleagues. “I thought to myself, if I could do pictures related to this place, it would be interesting to the people here. They would like to have it. A couple people have told me this is the highlight of coming here.” 

Compost pile 

Back at work, Davis has started shoveling and raking piles of nutrient-rich Loop biosolids compost in the garden beds outside of the front gate. The first batch of South Plant compost was produced this summer as part of pilot project to beneficially reuse state-certified biosolids locally in King County gardens, starting with landscaping at King County’s three regional treatment plants. 

Davis spreads Loop Compost at South Plant.

“This place needs it,” he says. “We get rid of all the leaves, the very thing that keeps nutrients in the ground. The compost is still relatively new — it hasn’t been around that long. I haven’t had an opportunity to really get into it.” 

Until now, that is. He’s trying out the compost at the busy front gate, where people will easily see the results. He’s thinking about what else he might plant there next to the wild roses. Crocuses and daffodils for early spring cheer? “Yeah, I think we’ll do that,” he says.