SALISBURY, Md. — Parkside High School’s Career & Technical Education Horticulture Program is beginning the school year with a new greenhouse and a record-setting planting event.
According to information provided by Wicomico County Public Schools, the program officially opened the new greenhouse during the first week of the school year. Students, school staff and community partners then gathered for a planting event featuring 11,400 pansy plugs.
The last pansy was planted in 11 minutes and 15 seconds, beating the previous record by five minutes, according to the school system.
The pansies are now growing inside the greenhouse and are expected to be ready for purchase during the first week of October.
Student Blaire Polidore said she enjoys working in the greenhouse and was excited to see the new facility come together.
“I love planting. I love being in the greenhouse,” Polidore said. “And just to see like a vision like that of Mr. Kelly's coming to life was just like the best thing that could have ever happened.”
The new greenhouse replaces the previous facility, which had been in use for nearly 30 years, according to Wicomico County Public Schools.
The new greenhouse serves as a classroom, laboratory and workplace for students, according to the school system. It also includes automated controls that replaced the manual controls used in the old greenhouse.
Horticulture instructor Jerry Kelley said the new facility will allow the program to continue expanding.
“We'll continue to grow some great plants, you know, in this greenhouse,” Kelley said. “So we have a really great opportunity to continue and continue that, but even grow some better plants.”
Student Cilen Gharbieh said she was surprised by the new greenhouse when she returned to school after not seeing the project during the summer.
“I was delighted to see it because I didn't see it all summer long,” Gharbieh said. “So when I came in this year, I was surprised of how nice that looked.”
According to Wicomico County Public Schools, the new greenhouse was completed in time for the start of the school year and fall planting season.
The A+ Garden Centre is open on school days from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with Friday hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is also open Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to Wicomico County Schools.
