Students in the Agriculture/Horticulture Production program at Wallace State Community College plant flowers in a median on the college campus.
HANCEVILLE – Students in Wallace State’s Agriculture and Horticulture program put lessons to work recently as they spruced up campus, clearing up plant beds and planting flowers.
The students spread out across campus, working in flower beds at the library, around the Bailey Center, in the courtyard of the Computer Science building and in the median near the baseball field.
Anthony Hilliard, head of the Agriculture/Horticulture Production at Wallace State, said students have been concentrating on landscape design and greenhouse management during the spring semester. Working on the planting and landscaping projects on campus helps them put those lessons to use.
“Some of the principles we talked about in landscape design included using color and flowers to enhance landscape, the texture of plants and color schemes,” Hilliard said.
They also talked about the different type of care plants need in regards to low maintenance versus high maintenance, the type of light source and shade, water, etc.
In the greenhouse management course, the students grew the flowers and shrubs they were planting, as well as many other types of plants. From planting the seeds, cutting and transplanting and finally planting them in beds, the students were able to experience the full progression of the plant.
Hilliard said the experience gained by the students can be invaluable. “One student’s dream job is to work in a botanical garden,” Hilliard said. “She will be doing things like what she’s done this semester. So, she can put on her resume how she assisted with the campus beautification and landscaping here at Wallace State.”
Wallace State’s Agriculture/Horticulture program offers certificate and degree options for students, as well as a 2+2 Poultry Science articulation agreement with Auburn University, which lets students complete their first two years toward a Poultry Science degree at Wallace State before transferring to Auburn. The program also offers a new option in Sustainable Agriculture, teaching students how to grow fruits and vegetables in organic methods as well as the traditional fertilizer and pesticide methods, using high tunnel greenhouse to cultivate produce year-round.
Students in the program’s Greenhouse Management course, which includes fundamentals of management, marketing and customer service, assist in the program’s semi-annual plant sales. The spring plant sale is currently underway offering a variety of flowering plants, shrubs, and more. The sale will last until the end of May. Hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the greenhouses located on the southwestern edge of the campus.
For more information about the Agriculture/Horticulture program at Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu or contact Anthony Hilliard at 256-352-8035 or anthony.hilliard@wallacestate.edu.
