The Horticulture, Forestry, and Open Space crew is responsible for all aspects of maintenance including open space weed
control, fertilization, flower beds, shrub beds, weed removal, and tree planting, removal, and trimming.
In winter, Park Services personnel assist in snow and ice control on
sidewalks and in the parking lots for parks and various city and county
buildings. Take a look at on-demand videos that show the crews in
action!
Horticulture
Supervisor Gary Schnoor
Foreman Kevin Ewerks
The Horticulture crews maintain over 785 acres of irrigated turf in parks, rights-of-way, athletic fields, and city
facilities. Each has a designated area to maintain. Included in routine maintenance is weed, disease and pest control
in turf, as well as shrub and flower beds.
 Turf maintenance includes aerating, topdressing, re-sodding,
re-seeding, over-seeding, and fertilizing. Crews fertilize twice a year in early May and again in early to mid
September. contracted turf weed spraying occurs in mid May and again in later September. Trash pickup is done several
times a week to keep the city looking clean and neat. This group also does various landscape projects--memorial beds
and benches, revitalizing older beds, and new planting projects. A horticulture planner looks over new development
plans, designs new shrub and flower beds, and orders all of the flowers for the beds around town.
This group also helps with special events and puts up and takes down
all of the city's holiday lighting. Forestry
Supervisor Gary Schnoor
City Forester Tom Wells
Forestry personnel take care of nearly 25,000 trees in parks, rights-of-way, and
open space areas. Broomfield maintains the national Tree City USA designation it
has earned annually since 1989.
 Caring for these trees is a major undertaking, requiring pruning, spraying,
removing, planting, staking, watering, wrapping young trees in the fall and
removing the wrap in the spring.
The forestry group also oversees some of the contracted services such as large
tree pruning and tree planting projects.
Forestry staff also must identify disease and pest problems and treat then
accordingly. A tree inventory is kept through a GIS (Geographic Information System)
program that allows staff to mark the location of every tree on public land in
the city. The program lists tree species, size of tree, condition of the tree,
and any maintenance needs the tree may have. Pruning cycles are followed with
this data with the goal to prune small trees every two years, medium trees every
five years, and large trees every eight years.
Every year in April, Arbor Day programs are presented at area schools.
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