When Arlen Patrick arrived on campus during the winter quarter of 1964, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He jumped around a bit before finding his passion: horticulture.

“I went through a lot of different courses, trying to find what I wanted to do, and then I finally took a horticulture class and I thought ‘this is kind of neat, this is something I like,’ so it was because of one class,” said Patrick, greenhouse manager for the horticulture department.

As a student he worked part-time for the Plant Introduction Station, which is located just south of campus, as a research associate and greenhouse manager.

Upon graduating in 1972, Patrick took a permanent position with the Plant Introduction Station that he held for four years. The station is partially funded by Iowa State and by the federal government, he said. When a position opened up on campus, he took it, and became greenhouse manager, a position he has held for 33 years.

As greenhouse manager on campus, Patrick assists students with class projects and oversees the tropical plants in the conservatory.

Patrick said there are several greenhouses on campus, but the horticulture department’s is largest, with about 26,000 square feet of glass. It’s the oldest as well, about 50 years older than any other greenhouse on campus.

He said it is common for people to visit the greenhouses during Veishea, when the horticulture club sells plants grown in the greenhouses, but otherwise they don’t see very many visitors.

“Students are welcome to come in and walk around and sit on a bench and read or study,” he said. Patrick said the conservatory serves as a sort of retreat during the cold months due to the many tropical plants that are housed there. Among the plants in the conservatory is a banana plant, which Patrick said is safe for students to eat from, if they can reach them. Patrick explained that bananas do not actually grow on trees, but rather very tall bushes. He said what appears to be a trunk is actually very compacted leaves that grow upward in the shape of a trunk.

Patrick said he tries very hard to find non-chemical ways of controlling pests in the greenhouses, which make the fruiting plants in the conservatory safe to eat.

“We introduce good bugs to eat the bad bugs, so to speak,” he said.

He said the best part about his job is the friends he has developed over the years, and working with the students.

“The students keep me young,” he said.

Last year Patrick began the phased retirement program. He said the program is normally reserved for people who have worked for the university for a very long time, and it must be approved by the department, the college and the university. After it was approved, he began working 20 hours per week instead of the usual 40, and a replacement was hired.

Patrick’s replacement is Peter Lawlor. The two have been sharing duties over the past year, and Jeff Iles, professor and chair of the department of horticulture, described the transition as a smooth one.

“They work together really well,” he said.

Patrick said the transition has been uneventful for him as well.

He said before he began the phased retirement, his mind was always on the greenhouse, even after leaving campus for the evenings and weekends.

“Plants don’t care that it’s Christmas or break,” he said.

He said it is common for international students to care for the greenhouses during campus holidays and breaks, because they don’t go home as often as national students do.

Patrick said Lawlor’s presence has helped him keep his mind off the greenhouse when he’s away.

“It’s nice to have someone to take care of all that stuff,” he said. Patrick’s last day will be Tuesday.

His friends and colleagues organized a surprise reception for him last Saturday at Reiman Gardens. There were 40-50 people in attendance, which is a very good turnout, Iles said.

“He was totally surprised,” he said.

At the reception, Patrick, who is an avid ISU sports fan, was presented with a framed photo of Jack Trice, a former ISU football player, for whom the football stadium is named.

Iles, who had been a horticulture student at Iowa State himself, said Patrick has been a great resource for the department.

“When you work with that many people, and they all speak highly of you, it’s a good thing,” he said.

Patrick said after Tuesday, he’ll continue to keep busy.

He and his wife of 38 years, Carol, moved into a new house three years ago, and he said he plans to spend a good deal of time working on it during the winter months and he wants to spend more time with his two grandchildren.

“I’ve taken up golf again,” he said, “maybe I’ll take a lot of naps.”