Big Day for LHS Horticulture Students

On Tuesday, Ledyard High School teacher Shelly Roy’s students met in an ordinary classroom. On Wednesday, May 4, they will push the desks aside, set up work tables, and display flower’s for the school’s Mother’s Day Flower Sale.

Beginning at 2:30 p.m. today, the sale will offer 600 geraniums, as well as small hanging baskets of impatiens. It also gives students a chance to gain valuable experience and help the school.

For the kids in the Agri-Science Department’s horticulture program, the sale is a big project.

“The whole process started last year. So, after Memorial day, we’ll evaluate the sales – what sold, what people want – and change what seeds we order,” Roy said. “Most of the cuttings come in March, so we get those in.”

Students pot geraniums and prepare hanging baskets, including some for special orders received in advance. “The kids essentially do market research, they pot things up, they evaluate.”

They also help with the sale itself. “They not only learn about planting and growing, but about selling,” Roy said. “It’s not just putting on price tags. It’s making suggestions. It’s carrying plants out to someone’s car… It’s such a great learning experience.”

To do all this work, students have put in a lot of time. “Part of it is the day in class, because we learn about propagation and transplanting and stuff like that,” Roy said. But students also come to help with the FFA or on their own time. “Most of the work is done through volunteer work.”

The experience doesn’t end with this sale, either. Before Memorial Day, a second sale will sell vegetables, herbs, and bedding plants. Some students also come to school in August to plant poinsettias for sale in winter.

All these sales raise money for the school and students.  “The money from the flowers will go toward our plant fund, and we’ll buy extra flowers for our floral design class,” Roy said. “Getting fresh flowers is very costly, and I tell the kids, do a good job with the flowers, and we can get some exotics. We can get roses and do something like that.”

The profits from the vegetable and herb sale will go be to the FFA and help fund activities and leadership building. Some will also help some students buy equipment or materials for their senior projects.

Both the plant sales and the horticulture students’ work are a benefit to the community. Some of the plants will be sold to Norwich’s Master Gardeners for their fundraiser. More will go to the soup kitchen and the community garden in Norwich. “We’re also seeing if we can grow some plants here to supplement the school kitchen,” said Roy, who is also planning to plant the flower beds in front of the school.

The school offers classes on greenhouse culture, floral culture, floral design, and landscape design. Students can participate in the FFA’s Nursery, Landscape, and Floriculture competitions. Students can also prepare for work in greenhouses, landscaping, or flower arranging.

Roy believes there is benefit to simply working with plants. “There’s something about being around so many lush, blooming things that just make you feel good,” she said.