One of the biggest retail holidays of the year is Valentine’s Day.  Students who are in the Horticulture Plant Shop and Flower Center are able to take part in the rush and have kept the stores busy and full this semester through various means of advertising. The preparation that goes into these holidays can be quite extensive. This year the students started preparing for Valentine’s Day the first week of the semester. Bright, colorful posters and fliers have been floating around offering Miniature Roses and Fresh Flower Bouquets for that special “sweetheart” and echoing sweet sentiments such as “Watch Your Love Grow.”  Other preparations included sending out email reminders, ordering plants, prepping the plants with colorful wraps, and setting up eye-pleasing displays meant to draw customers in. The money earned from sales like Valentine’s Day goes to fund the Horticulture Department’s many field trips and plant materials for classes.  The plants and flowers available change every week, so to keep up with the current stock, be sure to drop by the Flower Center in Benson 147 Mon-Fri from 8am-6pm and the Benson Greenhouses in Benson 275 Mon-Fri from 8am-5pm. The Plant Shop also has a booth in the MC every Friday from 8:30am-4:30pm.

 
 
To kick off the winter 2012 semester, Brother Toll’s Nursery Managementclass took a trip to Boise, ID to attend the Idaho Nursery and Landscaping Association (INLA) expo. This event is a great way to network with and see the different businesses around the country that are making waves in the Horticulture industry. The trip lasted three days and was filled with classes and seminars that were taught by leading national businesses. The students were taught about current topics that are pertinent to the Horticulture industry and various other subjects. The students were also able to attend the INLA Horticulture Trade Show and saw booths run by dozens of companies that provide materials and services for the Horticulture industry. The students had the opportunity to run a booth for the BYUI Horticulture Department. There are several scholarships that are offered through the INLA. Out of the four scholarships awarded, our students came home with three of them! The scholarships were $750 each and were given to Micah Woods, Ashley Barkow, and Ismael Ruelas. Bryan Randall also won an award in a plant identification contest. His prize was a brand new Kindle. The trip was fun for all who went and we are now looking forward for next year’s trip! For information on the scholarships and how to apply, click here.

 
 
     Very early in the morning on December 27th, 2011, several students and Sister Infanger left for Pasadena, California. They were headed to attend the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. The trip lasted one week and the students were able to participate in the making of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. Two of the participating students were new to the trip this year, Mallory Layton and Liesel Hirschi. They were able to go and work as floral designers on a few floats that the Phoenix Decorating company produced. Returning alumni were Hayley Sheppard, a senior at BYUI, and Kristin Wheelwright, a graduate of BYUI who flew all the way from New York to participate. Hayley and Kristin were actually hired by the Phoenix Decorating company to design and put together some of the floats. Because there were a few days before Sister Infanger and her students could start working on the floats, they spent some time sightseeing in sunny and warm Pasadena. They were able to go to the Griffith Observatory, they experienced the winter beach at Santa Monica Pier, and they even got to go shopping in the Old Downtown area! And then the work began. Out of the 44 floats that were in the Rose Parade, the Phoenix company produced 22 of them! Lucky Sister Infanger and crew got to work on these beautiful pieces of art! The theme of the parade this year was Just Imagine. It was held on Monday January 2, 2012 and the float decorators worked hard all Saturday night to be sure the floats were ready for final judging on Sunday. The four girls and Sister Infanger were separated onto teams that took care of several different floats. The work that they did largely included designing the floral part of the floats. Some of their other responsibilities included wiring, greening, and finally placing the flowers to bring to life the magnificent floats. The girls and Sister Infanger stayed in Pasadena for the final judging and then drove home that night. “I was actually home in time to watch it on TV! Which was weird!” stated Sister Infanger. The girls had worked hard and were rewarded with the satisfaction of several floats winning trophies in the tournament.

The floats, which the girls and Sister Infanger worked on, that received awards are as follows:

-Craftsman Trophy- Trader Joe’s “Hot Lava” (Sis. Infanger and Liesel)

-Directors’ Trophy- Bayer Advanced “Garden of Imagination” (Kristin)

-Judges’ Special Trophy- Donate Life “One More Day” (Sis. Infanger and Liesel)

-National Trophy- Western Asset Management “Imagine in America” (Mallory)

-Princesses’ Trophy- Rotary International “Inching Towards the End of Polio” (Hayley)

-Theme Trophy- US Bank “Idea Factory” (Kristin)

-Tournament Special Trophy- RFD-TV “Happy Trails” (Mallory)

(For a list of all the floats that received awards click here.)

     This trip was deemed very successful and was “a good experience” all around. The students were able to network with recognized national leaders in the Floral Design and Event industry. Attending this event gives them the opportunity to design in one of the largest floral events in the nation. Not only is this Pasadena trip an annual opportunity, but students from the Horticulture Department also have the opportunity to apply for and attend the annual Grand Floral Parade in Portland, Oregon. The application to the Portland event for this year will be available in March.

 
Welcome Back! 01/25/2012
 
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Welcome back to those of you who are attending this Winter 2012 semester! The Horticulture Department recently welcomed Brother Ben Romney as the new Head of the Department. We are sad to see Brother Toll go after six great years, but not to worry! He will still be teaching and spreading his laugh through the halls of the Benson building. Upcoming events include the Horticulture Social (date yet to be decided), and the Floral students' Annual Flower and Bridal Open House in March. For more up-to-date information on events and happenings be sure to check the calendar often. Horticulture Seminar has kicked off to a great start this semester with speakers from the Merrill Landscaping and Brickman Landscaping companies. You can join us for future seminars every Tuesday from 12:45pm to 1:45pm in Benson 232. As well as giving us good information about the current Horticulture industry, the speakers from Seminar almost always bring with them new job and internship opportunities. To check the current job postings click here. We hope your semester is off to a great start, and we are looking forward to more changes and fun as the year goes!
 
 
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Bro Dewey, his Horticulture 201 class, and Bro. Barnes all left for Utah early on the morning of November 2nd to introduce beginning horticulture students to different career paths in the horticulture industry.  They arrived in Provo at BYU where they met Brian Hill, the Baseball field manager who taught the care that goes into the field every day. Once they heard from him the students headed over to the Football field where they met with Richard Clarke who invited them under the blown up tarps and onto the field. After finishing they headed to Intermountain plantings, a design build/maintenance firm, to hear from Seth Reed, (a former BYUI Horticulture Graduate) who manages the commercial design build aspect of the company. He took them to downtown Salt Lake City to look at all the work Intermountain Planting is doing at the City Creek Project.  Next they headed down to Lehi. In Lehi they went to Thanksgiving Point to see Tony Latimir the Head Gardener. They saw all the different garden styles created at Thanksgiving Point. The students really loved the Sculptures of Jesus Christ they had on display. The Students then headed back to the motel to gain some rest for the long day ahead of them. The first stop of the day was at Meadows Brook Design where they met Ginger Belnap, a Residential Designer and a former BYUI Horticulture Graduate, who took them to different landscapes she has designed. Later they headed over to Flower patch to hear from Tom Gordon, the owner. They toured the facilities and saw the different services they offer and the many flowers they provide. The next stop was J&J Nursery, where Bill Doty a manger showed them around and spoke with them about the different plants they grow and different tricks they’ve picked up over the years. Finally they ended up at Willard Bay Gardens where Owners Barney and Della Barnett talked about the in’s and out’s of Retail Nursery’s and each student was given a pansy to take home by the Barnetts. Click here to see more pictures.

 
 
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On November the 7th the Hort. 322 class left, Phoenix bound. They spent the first day mostly in the car only stopping to eat and to play at Zion national park. Students loved hiking up the hill and beside the cliffs to get to that perfect spot to look down the canyon. Once back in the car they finished their first day travel to Marble Canyon, just inside the Arizona border and the starting point for the Grand Canyon. The group was off to an early start with breakfast in their bellies to the Grand Canyon. As they overlooked the Grand Canyon in sheer awe it erupted into a snowball fight. Students laughed along with professors as they joined in on the fun. After lunch on top of the rim they made their way to Phoenix, AZ. You would think they would have slept off their excitement, but not Horticulture students. The group was rearing to go bright and early in the morning. At Mountain States nursery they went to see their operations. Students learned about trademarks and patents on plants as well as irrigation solutions to problems. Some students’ favorite stop of the trip was AAA landscaping. After a tour of their office they heard some valuable advice from the owner as well as employees. With hard hats and orange vests they drove to Sky Harbor International Airport where AAA landscaping was working to put in an extensive landscape.  After a long day they settled for some grub and sleep. In the morning they headed over to the University of Phoenix Stadium where they got to play on the field and hear about how the whole field retracts out of the stadium. Later they traveled over to, Berridge nursery to see the many different plants the Phoenix area can paint with in their landscapes. Next they went to see Mayesh Florsist Wholesale. Not only were the floral students ecstatic about the many bundles of flowers, but all the students were excited to see and handle them. Before heading to Las Vegas, NV they stopped to see the Desert Botanical gardens. The next day students and faculty met with Plantworks to see their botanical replications. This company has grown to service many hotels in Las Vegas with their products. It’s hard to tell the difference between the their artificial plants and others live plants. That evening students and faculty toured downtown Las Vegas to see the many creative designs inside and out of the buildings. Click here to see more pictures.

 
What Women Want 12/10/2011
 
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The conference for What Women Want was the 14th and 15th of October. Our Floral department was invited to participate in a floral fashion show. There were six dresses for students to make accessories like bracelets, rings, shawl, scepters, and handbags out of plant material. Floral fashion is like making a bouquet that you wear. The students participating were in a portfolio building class as well as other advanced students. Sister Infanger said that the students did a great job at thinking outside the normal box and brought new trends to the show. Three students were able to actually attend the show which included Nick Adams, Lauren Smith, and Hayley Sheppard. When asked what his favorite part was Nick Adams said “to make creations and have [models] showcase them in front of hundreds of people”

 
Presidents Club 12/10/2011
 
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Every Fall donators from all over, who have made a contribution of $1000 dollars or more, are invited to a lunch hosted by the campus. Each department is invited to answer questions and show the talents that they are acquiring while attending here at Brigham Young University of Idaho. Our own Floral students participate every year and have been for 20 years, it has become a tradition. Every year they work hard at making beautiful center pieces, corsages for the ladies, and boutonnieres for the men. Jaime Garret a Floral student loved seeing people’s faces light up as she pinned Boutonnieres on them. Presidents club is great experience for the floral students and they are also Flower Center best customers.

 
Construction 10/21/2011
 
Hard work is what the HORT 252 Construction class is all about. Bro. John starts by envisioning a new creation in the Thomas E. Ricks Gardens. Next he puts his design on paper and brings it to the class to get them excited. Three months isn’t typically enough time to do a project, so each project is split in between two semesters. The first class starts a project and the second class will finish it. This class provides practical knowledge for designing and building landscapes, and brings a beautiful addition to the campus and gardens. Each student learns the basics of common equipment used in the industry, while also learning different materials and how to create with them. Students keep a journal were they keep pictures of everything they do along with product names description and even pricing. This project is a great start to their portfolio as Design/Build/Maintain students.


 
Fish Bowl 10/21/2011
 
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The fishbowl is located downstairs across from the Flower center, it is Benson rm 144. The Fish bowl contains a study area, posters about trips and internships taken by students, and subscriptions to various Horticultural magazines. The Internship map on the wall has now been updated showing the past internships over the last 4 years. Also the fish bowl contains a 4 year plan that include all required classes and when you should take them for all horticulture majors. All the hard work updating and revamping can be owed to Ashley wheeler a student studying Design/Build maintain. She has spent most of her free time working on signs and putting lists together. Ashley also has a link to the campus internship and career services that allows you to see all past internships and job opportunities. Here is a link for that page. When you have some free time go check the Fish bowl out and see all the many things it has to offer.