Using a philosophy similar to farming, a city greenhouse specialist has created more than 200 different designs for the 250 flower beds in a dozen different parks in Rapid City. Tim Forster and his garden staff of Nancy Wold, Jason Solano and Cheryl Greytak have been preparing for this stage of the summer's growing season since January. Now all that's left is the planting.

"That's when the real work begins," Forster said.

Last week, Solano prepared nearly 60 pounds of the 300 pounds of soil needed for transplanting and potting the canna bulbs, while both Wold and Greytak carefully trimmed dead root hairs from a large container of the bulbs. Forster gave an impromptu tour of the city's greenhouse, which was nearly filled to the brim with 130 different kinds of flowers.

While the cool spring weather has delayed some flowers' blooms, Forster said they would be ready for the citywide planting on May 19. Unlike the commercial greenhouses that are now filled with colorful blossoms, Forster and his team have carefully trimmed many of the 50,000 plants back to develop more leaves and bigger root systems to help the flowers survive transplanting.

Each year, Forster creates garden designs for each flower bed on paper before city crews begin to plant. He tries to coordinate and contrast elements of the flowers texture, color and size in his designs. He expects a vibrancy of color, healthy growth patterns and the ability to fill out the flower bed. He also has to consider the climate, disease resistance, insect resistance and deer resistance.

"I change it every year," he said of the design. "I rarely put the same flowers in the same flower bed. If you do, it will slowly decline."

You have to think like a farmer in these instances; consider it small-scale crop rotation. "You don't grow corn in the same quarter year after year," he said.

For areas populated with deer, he avoids planting pansies, petunias or roses. "That's dessert," he said of the animals' plant preferences.

To try to deer-proof the gardens, he uses marigolds, snap dragons, zinnias and daffodils. "If it has a milky sap, deer don't like it," he said.

Forster, a Salem native, became interested in plants because his father annually planted and grew a large vegetable garden. It was something that Forster tended each summer as he grew up.

What he learned in his father's garden led him to major in horticulture at South Dakota State University, which also led to jobs in greenhouses and landscaping before arriving in Rapid City 20 years ago to become the city's greenhouse specialist.

The two-week citywide planting has an assembly-line quality to it. His staff will nearly double with college interns helping out. They will mark off the design, planting stakes and running lines. Then one person will punch a hole into the ground where the plant goes, the next person will drop the flower plant and the following person will dig a hole with a trowel, plant the flower and smooth the soil. Another person follows with a hose or watering can to carefully water the new transplant.

He hasn't started organizing his weeding crews - usually kids ages 14 to 17 - but he knows that they'll need to be onboard soon to keep the gardens from going wild. For many on the crews, it will be their first job and a lot of fun.

Forster offers a hint for all first-time teenage applicants: Show your interest by calling him about the job personally - don't rely on the parents making that call.

"It's my biggest pet peeve," he said with a laugh.