Digging the flower scene

High Point student anticipates summer full of plant care

Thursday, June 15, 2006

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by Dennis Carter

Staff Writer

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Photos by Susan Whitney-Wilkerson⁄ The Gazette

(Above) High Point High Schoolsophomore Jasmine Hadden, 16, plants flowers as part of a school project to beautify the high school’s grounds June 8. (Right) Hadden gets help from freshman David Rodriguez Jr. (center), 15 and sophomore Gerson Elias, 16.

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High Point High School sophomore Jasmine Hadden always knew the school’s towering marquee needed a makeover. So for the final project in her demanding seminar class, she used the expertise of the school’s horticulturist and a little help from the school administration to plant a flowerbed around the sign, which has splintering wood peeling off the sides and dead grass surrounding it.

Securing the last irises in the hardened earth near the school’s entrance, Hadden knew her work was far from finished.

This summer, the Beltsville resident plans to make two or three stops at the new garden every week, nurturing the greenery she was able to purchase with the help of the school’s green house.

‘‘It’s going to be OK,” Hadden, 16, said as she visualized the prospect of making frequent trips to school during the summer months.

Even though payoff is still months away – when the flowers blossom and add a little color to the bland entrance – Hadden, knows the effort will be worth it.

‘‘When they all finally bloom, it should look really nice,” Hadden said. ‘‘I hope it makes the school look better. ... When you look at a school and it looks run-down, you’re not going to expect anything good from it. But [with a more attractive entrance], you’d have a better view of the school itself.”

Hadden’s seminar classmates also pitched ideas for High Point to consider. Sophomore Michael Robinson designed a dugout for visiting baseball teams and Jeff Cheney outlined a plan to start a music club at the school, where aspiring musicians can enjoy the occasional impromptu jam session.

Wes Hubbert, the school’s horticulturist and Hadden’s project sponsor, used money from the campus’ green house– which has an independent budget provided by fall and springtime flower sales – to buy the $368 flower supply from Beltsville’s Behnke Nurseries. Hubbert received a 20 percent discount because of his connection with the local school.

Hadden said her request for school funding of the planting project was turned down, although the administration did provide the mulch for her effort.

High Point Principal Scott Smith estimates that the school would be spending ‘‘several thousand dollars” over the summer to remove an unsightly hill in front of the school and replace it with a plethora of flowers and shrubbery.

‘‘You just have to do these things sometimes,” Smith said.

David Rodriguez, Hadden’s boyfriend and part of Hadden’s volunteer team for the project, said a few flowers – including phloxes and dianthuses – would spruce up an otherwise dreary school entrance.

‘‘Right now it looks nasty,” said Rodriguez, a freshman, pointing at the chipped wood on the marquee. ‘‘When people drive by, they’ll look at the flowers and think, ‘wow.’ [The landscaping] is pretty boring right now.”

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.