The Wake

Getting dirty, planting seeds, and watching them mature. No, it’s not a description of your baby’s daddy; it’s what the Horticulture Club does year round.

The Horticulture Club, which became an official club at the University of Minnesota in 1983, is for those who enjoy the wonderful world of plants. However it’s not just exclusive to horticulture majors. Any student who loves to get their hands a little dirty is welcomed to join.

“I think we almost doubled membership this year,” Horticulture Club advisor Professor Neil Anderson says. “We’ve been attracting a lot of students outside of the department of horticulture that are interested in plants.”

For the diehard plant lovers, the Horticulture Club participates in yearly competitions. The Mid-America Collegiate Horticulture Society Tournament is held every year in November. There, students from horticulture clubs across the Midwest compete by completing four tests, two plant identification tests, one general horticulture-knowledge test, and one floral and crop judging test.

There is more to Horticulture Club than hardcore flower judging and test taking. Recently, the club went to an apple orchard and also carved pumpkins for Halloween.

“We generally have a lot of fun at our meetings,” President Tom Weaver says. “We do make sure we never have two serious meetings in a row.”

The biggest events for the club are their annual plant sales that happen twice a semester. This fall there are two upcoming sales, one the weekend before Thanksgiving break and another before winter break. Both will be held in the lower level of the St. Paul Student Center. The club plans to have a selection that varies from houseplants and generic floral arrangements at the Thanksgiving sale, to wreaths, poinsettias and spruce pots at the winter sale.

“We encourage people to really get involved with what they want the sale to be,” Weaver says about the plant selection. “Every year we have pretty much a completely different inventory.”

After the hectic spring sale, the members end the year by going on a trip to see different plants around the country. Last year the group went to San Diego, and this year they may go to Miami, but a final decision has not yet been made.

The Horticulture Club meets bi-weekly on Wednesdays in 423 Alderman Hall at 5 p.m., and all majors are welcomed. You can join their mailing list by emailing hortclub@umn.edu.