The first plant sale of the semester hosted by the horticulture club took place this weekend at Diablo Valley College. The event was focused not only on raising funds for their program but to provide the community with a wide variety of flowers, herbs, and succulents. Plant sales are important for the success of the program as they fund the entire horticulture department according to Bethallyn Black, a full time instructor for the horticulture program.

For the past several months, students and faculty in the horticulture department have been growing, nurturing, and caring for plants until they were ready to finally be presented to the public.

The hard work of the entire horticulture department bore fruit and vibrant colors. The community could enjoy a well-organized event and share their love for plants as well as warm tea and free popcorn.

Davida Berrios, a horticulture student, said that one of the important things is that the event brings older and younger people who love plants together.

“It brings old and younger people together, who all have interests in plants,” said Berrios. “Our customers are learning.” 

Another factor driving customers to the horticulture plant sale is the local aspect it provides to the community. 

“We’re supporting the community by supporting the horticulture department instead of Home Depot,” said Shannon Rogers, a customer at the plant sale. “They have a really good selection we’ve never found in nurseries around.”

The horticulture sale went far beyond herbs. Besides local plants, the greenhouses are filled with much more exotic plants like dragon fruit or moringa, which will be sold during another plant sale which is going to take place in March.

“The plant sale is a good way to spread accessibility to local herbs to the community,” said Mariyah Moussa, a member of the horticulture club. 

Sustainability also plays a big role in the horticulture department’s decision making. The tags used to label the plants were all biodegradable, and the information on them was printed with soy ink. The department also makes their own compost tea and doesn’t buy potting soil in plastic bags. And although most of the plants were sold in plastic plant pots, the students in the horticulture department later collect these and other plastic plant pots from the community, wash them, and either reuse or recycle them.

“Although the number one goal with this program is to teach people how to fall in love with the plants,” said Black, a full time instructor for the horticulture program.

With well over 1,000 different kinds of plants eager to catch the eyes of the public, the horticulture department has planted another plant sales in their calendars. March, April, and May will all offer different types of fruits, fungi, and other edibles, while herbs will have their time to shine during a Herb Fair in May.

The next plant sale is planned to take place in March, and according to Black, there’s going to be more vegetables and fruit that weren’t ready to be sold this weekend.