Christmas Tree Lane 2009

Christmas Tree Lane is one of the most anticipated events of the year! Various departments and societies around campus enter a tree into the contest. Each year there is an overall theme that all trees are to follow. The dates are December 4 through the 14th. Anyone in the Horticulture society interested in helping decorate our tree is welcome. Three people will be appointed to head up the project and they would welcome any help. Contact Sister Bass at bassm@byui.edu if you are interested so she can get a head count of volunteers. We do really well every year and it is always a fun, creative experience to get ready for Christmas!!!

President's Club

The girls who are enrolled in Flower Center this semester participated in making the corsages and boutonnieres for the honored guests who are members of President's Club. Members help to contribute financially to the growth and heritage of BYU-Idaho. Last Saturday, there was the President's Club banquet which is an annual banquet, hosted by President Clark, where he gives his annual report on how their donations have been helping the school and the students.

As part of the preparation for the banquet, the Flower Center girls learned how to pin on corsages and boutonnieres (a very important skill) and the basic construction of those. The girls as a whole needed to provide about 150-200 of each for the banquet guests, as well as a few design pieces for the room to show off the skills our department is developing.

The students were also there during the reception of the guests before the banquet to pin on the corsages and boutonnieres they made earlier. This was definitely a success and a great chance to give back a little to the school and the many people who have invested in our school. We thank you.

"The seeds we are planting today will grow and become mighty oaks,
and their branches will run over the earth."
—Jacob Spori, at the dedication of the Bannock Stake Academy, November 12, 1888

"You never can foretell the consequences of a dollar invested in
education. It goes on multiplying itself. It becomes not an expenditure, but
an investment which pays returns far and wide and through generations to
come..."
—President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Lighting the Way" public announcement, April 4, 1996

Poinsettia Crop

The BYU-Idaho Horticulture Department evaluates the preformance of over 50 poinsettia varieties from around the world. Varieties are trialed yearly starting in July with the culmination of color in December. Students participating in the trial develop skills in the scientific process, growing, producing and marketing poinsettia crops. Through this, students build contacts with plant breeders, horticulture companies, and industry leaders.

Stop in to the greenhouse see what we are doing and see the process that we must follow to get the crop ready for Christmas!

Christmas Tree Lane

Each semester the Interiorscaping class has a section on Christmas decor where they set up Christmas trees in the Benson and Hinckley buildings. Since it's the season for decorating trees, they also submitted a tree into Christmas Tree Lane, a campus-wide tradition each fall semester. Here are the trees from this semester:

The Christmas Tree Lane tree came in as the grand prize winner on campus! Congrats to all who worked on the tree, and great job on all the other trees!

High Style in Flower Center

The Flower Center, located in Benson 147, is a working flower shop serving both campus and the local community. The Flower Center is a class that "employs" students who typically, though not always, are Horticulture majors with an emphasis in floral design. They make the Devotional flower arrangements each week, and make designs to display in various places on campus, such as the Library, Kimball Building, and the Manwaring Center.

Because the Flower Center is not only a working flower shop, but a classroom as well, each week the students that run Flower Center work on building experience in different elements of the floral industry. This last week they have been working on High-Style Designs, which are designs often striking in appearance, characherized by bold use of line, form, color, texture, and space. Here are some of the designs:

The Flower Center is open every school day, from 3-6 PM. Those wishing to place an order can call during working hours at 208-496-2044, by email at flowercenter@byui.edu, and walk-ins are also welcome for those looking for a simple arrangement or wrap. Flower Center takes credit cards, cash, check, or they can charge to your campus account with your I-number. Give them a call, or drop by to see what keeps them busy!