Mount Si students to hold spring plant sale
May 6, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Every spring, the Mount Si High School environmental horticulture class provides hanging baskets of flowers to the city of Snoqualmie.
“It really is a win-win for everyone,” said David Dembeck, parks lead with the city of Snoqualmie. “The students get to develop their new-found skills and knowledge of plants creating and caring for the baskets and then they get to see the fruits or flowers of their labors out in the community all summer long. It creates a great deal of pride. The city, in return, gets low-cost, high-quality flower baskets.”
Mount Si High School teacher Nick Kurka and his students are more than happy to supply the flowers, which are constantly in demand.
“North Bend wants us to do theirs too, but I don’t have a big enough greenhouse,” Kurka said.
Mount Si High School junior Brianna Kelley, left, and junior Francisca Mejia water petunias in the high school’s greenhouse.
Valley residents can buy their own student-grown flowers at the Spring Plant Sale in the Mount Si Greenhouse from 8 a.m. — 5 p.m. May 7 and 9 and from 8 a.m. — 6 p.m. May 8. Gardeners will find fuchsias baskets, geranium baskets and annuals and perennials.
“We’ve been working since the beginning of the year,” junior Francisca Mejia said.
“We worked pretty hard keeping them alive,” junior Brianna Kelly said, as she watered some petunias in the school’s greenhouse.
Students received small plugs of the plants in the fall and learned how to plant, fertilize and water them.
“It’s a lot easier for me to tell the difference between the different types of flowers,” junior Michael Austin said.
Proceeds will benefit the environmental horticulture class. Kurka said the plants not only educate his students but also teach them a valuable lesson about responsibility.
“I want to make sure my kids give back to the community,” Kurka said.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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