Western Hills High School FFA students, from left, Addison Shaffer, Carter Hutcherson, and Cheyenne Robinson, and FFA advisor Jeff Shaffer, are selling flowers and ferns, some in hanging baskets, in the greenhouse behind the school at 100 Doctors Drive in Frankfort. The greenhouse is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturdays through the end of May.
MAY 06
Like many FFA chapters across Kentucky, Western Hills students selling plants they’ve grown
By Chris Aldridge
Kentucky Ag News
FRANKFORT – Every spring, for more than 20 years, FFA students at Western Hills High School in Frankfort have sold flowers and ferns they grew through the winter in a 2,160-square-foot greenhouse behind the school at 100 Doctors Drive.
“It’s a tradition here,” said agriculture teacher Jeff Shaffer, one of Western Hills’ three FFA advisors. He teaches four horticulture classes and manages the greenhouse.
“We do a Mother’s Day event” the day before the big day, according to Shaffer. This year, that falls on Saturday, May 10.
“We invite mothers to come and, for free, their children can paint a pot and pick out a flower for their mommas,” Shaffer said.
“The day before Mother’s Day is one of our biggest days of the year,” he added. “People, especially dads, come in and get last-minute gifts.”
Since kicking off its spring sale April 21, the greenhouse is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through the end of May.
“If the weather is real pretty on Saturdays, a lot of people will come,” Shaffer said. “A lot of students and students’ parents come in, as well as community members that wait for this sale every year and want to support their local greenhouse.”
Shaffer said the greenhouse’s biggest seller is hanging baskets, especially those containing ferns.
“They love the ferns,” he said. “The ferns come in 1-inch plugs in August, and we grow them all winter until spring.”
Other baskets contain colorful petunias and other varieties in full bloom.
“We usually grow 250 hanging baskets,” Shaffer said. “This year, we grew over 300 just for Mother’s Day. We’ve already sold 150, so I had to order some so we wouldn’t run out.”
Western Hills will double its greenhouse space next year. The finishing touches are being made on a nearly identical 30-by-72-foot structure right next to the current one, half of which will be converted to aquaponics.
“We were crowded this year,” Shaffer said. “The new one is 10 feet tall. The old one is 8 feet. It’s annoying because I hit my head on hanging baskets all the time!”
Growing flowers and ferns provides hands-on experience for Western Hills’ FFA students, some of whom don’t live on farms.
“I have four greenhouse classes of students that help me grow them,” Shaffer said. “They work out there (in the greenhouse) with me. I teach them things like plant science, pest management, and greenhouse maintenance.”
Western Hills FFA’s next project is growing a popular autumn flower, chrysanthemums.
“Before school is out, we’re going to plant 700 mums to sell in the fall,” Shaffer said.
Western Hills is just one example of many local high school FFA chapters across Kentucky that host similar spring plant sales. Whether it’s hanging baskets, ferns, or colorful flowers, these fundraisers offer a chance for the public to support agricultural education and the students who are shaping the future of the ag industry in the Commonwealth.
“Buying local flowers from FFA chapters is a simple way to invest in the next generation of Kentucky agriculture,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell added.