With grocery prices on the rise, there has never been a better moment to start gardening. Whether you fancy yourself a fan of fruit, vegetables, herbs — or even just something floral or decorative — gardening is a timeless and useful skill. At a time when many people find themselves increasingly disconnected from nature, the Gardening Club offers students an easy opportunity to get a little greenery in their life.
“Stay a while. It might grow on you,” Sierra Whitaker, president of the club, said.
Under Whitaker’s leadership, the Gardening Club has planned to focus efforts on fundraising to improve the gardening space within the greenhouse this year. The club would like to add fans for better air circulation, as well as more shelves to house the plants. In addition to these improvements, the Gardening Club wants to make water more readily available in the greenhouse, where there is no easy source to draw from. To water the plants currently, club members must haul water from outside of the greenhouse.
There are tentative plans for a bake-sale soon, as well as a fun activity coming up in October. The Gardening Club will be handing out tiny terracotta pots to be drawn on like little Jack-o-Lanterns. Whitaker also mentioned the possibility of a “mystery plant” giveaway in which the club will give away budding seedlings, so that students can help them continue to grow and discover what mystery plant they received.
Although spring has ended and autumn is upon us, there are so many seeds ready to sow. Whether you’re already an expert gardener or you identify as having a black thumb, now is the perfect time to get involved with the Gardening Club, whose first endeavor is to clean up the greenhouse of its dying plants and make a fresh start.
Meetings are held every week on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. Although meetings might be canceled via email. For students interested in joining or learning more about the Gardening Club, email Whitaker at swhi9908@usao.edu.
Hatch Layman is a third-year psychology major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
