Horticulture students create paths to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show
02/16/2011
Edmonds College Horticulture students have designed a series of paths to showcase
the garden gates created by local artists at the Northwest Flower and Flower and Garden
Show Feb. 23-27 at the Washington State Convention Center.
“Creating the paths is a good tie-in with our Construction Design class. The students gain experience to add to their classwork,” said Edmonds College Horticulture Department Head Polly Hankin.
Though artists’ gates have been featured at the show in the past, they haven’t always been displayed to advantage. Garden Show manager Cyle Eldred contacted the Edmonds CC Horticulture Department and asked whether design students would be interested in creating a staging area to display the gates.
The college said yes, and 15 students began work on the islands that run down the center of the 25-foot walkway in the marketplace section of the show. The islands will be crafted from traditional materials such as pavers and sod, and not-so-traditional materials such as crushed glass to create a pathway for the gates to sit along.
“Having the opportunity to participate in the design and installation of a paver pathway is a great chance to put into practice what I’ve been learning in the classroom,” said landscape restoration student Margaret Metz-Holland.
The experience also gives students a chance to go behind the scenes of the show, which landscape design student Allison Wilhelm, said “…is like looking behind the curtain in Oz! I've been going to the show for years now, and I've marveled at the amazing gardens and the tireless and creative people who have put them together. I've always wanted to be a part of that creativity, and now I am. It's a great way to network and learn from professionals already in the field.”
Edmonds College Horticulture has participated in the garden show for more than 10 years. A number of the college’s instructors, well-known experts in the horticulture field, will present seminars at the show, including Bess Bronstein, Zsofia Pasztor, Christina Pfeiffer, Riz Reyes, and Wendy Welch. Visit Edmonds College at the show in booth #2506.
Spring classes at the college start April 4. Horticulture classes include Plant Diseases, Woody Plants for the Gardener, Field Sketching, Spring Herbaceous Plants, Pine Pruning, and Spring Vegetable Gardening.
Evening classes starting at 6 p.m., include Hort Plant Science, Deciduous Identification, Plant Insects, Interior Plants, Community Development, and Restoration Ecology.
Horticulture is one of the longest running programs at Edmonds College, established the year the college was founded, in 1967. The program currently has 17 full- and part-time instructors and 300 students.