The horticulture students at Sampson Community College have decorated their fall garden for Halloween. It is a mixture of scary and not so scary creatures spread over the beautiful garden designed and maintained by the students.
“This is the third year our students have done this,” explained Nancy Olsen, SCC horticulture chairwoman and instructor. “I offer this fall decoration as an extra credit project for all my students. They have to come up with their own plan and design, then discuss where they want to put it in the garden before they begin their work.”
The instructor shared that she tells her students that it is to be a fall -hemed garden, but most often than not, the students turn to Halloween for their inspiration.
“I always take final approval for what the students plan to do and the placement in the garden to prevent duplications and problems about someone wanting the same space for their project,” asserted Olsen.
As you enter the garden, which has a sign hanging over the archway reading “Dead Zone,” the visitor will see cobwebs and skeletons, then come upon a scene that has a scary creature with pumpkins and hay bales and flowers. The visitor continues to transverse the pathways of the garden and you may come upon a witch stirring her brew or a grave site with the victim partially uncovered, rats scampering around with fingers and such. The entire garden is filled with a variety of creatures however, they are not all scary. There are some friendly scarecrows and scenes showing the beautiful fall colors in the flowers and other produce from the area that signifies fall.
Olsen stressed that the garden was there for people to enjoy, even though many local people do not even know that it exists.
“We would like to invite people to come visit us. The plants and garden are done by our students, but it is an excellent way for anyone that is planning their own garden or home landscaping to come visit and see plants that they could use. In the spring, we invite second grade students from across the county to come visit our butterfly garden and see all the wonderful things we have here and experience nature at its best,” cited Olsen. “We invite the students and staff to come visit our fall garden after our students have completed their decorating. The public is also invited to come visit but we do ask that they call for an appointment so someone will be here to show them around,” remarked the instructor.
Students shared that the classes offered through Sampson Community and the Horticulture department were excellent classes to take and very much hands-on opportunities.
“Ms. Nancy is a great instructor and she is ready to provide us with skills to grow and plant our own nurseries and gardens. We even may possibly be able to start our own business some day as a result of what we learn here. SCC is a great place to learn and to get your horticulture and technology degree,” expressed Shaletin Rayner.
“Registration for our spring semester is just around the corner and we will be offering some truly interesting classes in horticulture this year.Now would be the time to start thinking about joining us for a class or two,” cited Olsen.
The horticulture department only holds one sale per year, in the spring when they have their annual spring plant sale, but Olsen stated that she may have other plants for sale during the year if anyone is interested. She further stated that if anyone would like to visit the garden or the horticulture department to give her a call at 910-592-8081, ext. 7003 to schedule a time.
Post a Comment
