Beautification project brings blooms to Nellis Air Force Base

The landscape around Nellis Air Force Base is looking a bit more attractive than it used to, thanks to a thriving landscape planted by Southern Nevada’s Master Gardener program.

What used to be a barren plot of rocks is now sprouting wildflowers and a variety of trees, offering airmen an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors while they are stationed at the base.

The Major General Billy McCoy Environmental Grove has been around since the 1990s but has only recently began blooming.

Part of the improvement project was offering Nellis native seeds that were harvested at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Orchard, said Anne Marie Lardeau, a Master Gardener who worked on the project.

Those seeds were planted in August 2014, and small plants started popping up the following spring. Seeing more baby bushes germinating this spring was an encouraging sign for Lardeau.

“People see a little silver thing; I see a big yellow bush,” she said of the potential of the site.

It turns out that the barren landscape out at the base is perfect for the seeds Lardeau planted.

“Anything that’s rocky lends itself very well to just throwing wildflower seeds and having them germinate,” she said. “They seem to grow very well naturally.”

With the improved landscape came a return of quail and hummingbirds, said Kimberly Williams, Master Gardener and chairwoman of the Nellis project.

“It’s kind of exciting to see life returning to that area,” she said.

Williams has been in charge of the project since 2011 and said there has been noticeable improvement to the area since the installation of an irrigation system.

Master Gardeners meet in the grove once a month for a few hours at a time and lend their services to airmen who are interested in the upkeep, but Williams said it doesn’t always go that way.

“We usually end up doing most of the work, anyway,” she said. “But that’s OK.”

Contact View intern reporter Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Find him on Twitter: @BlakeApgarLV.