Lansing Home and Garden Show features exhibitors, MSU club

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Towering pine trees, cascading waterfalls and an endless stretch of flowers and gardens marked the beginning of the 14th annual Lansing Home and Garden Show at the MSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education on Thursday afternoon.

It runs through Sunday.

The yearly show hosts around 300 exhibitors and 250 local businesses and draws in hundreds of gardening enthusiasts and spectators, running from Friday to Sunday. The show also has become a chance for the MSU Horticulture Club to show the public what it’s about.

Members of the club have set up a booth for years at the show, advertising their Spring Show and Plant Sale.

“Every spring toward the last week of April, we have a big fundraiser that’s based on that year’s theme,” said Mitchell Zost, horticulture senior and Horticulture Club president. “It funds the club for the entire year, and it a big deal for us.”

Zost said members man a Horticulture Club booth for the Home and Garden Show, getting the message out about their biggest fundraiser of the year.

“We’re trying to market outside of Lansing this year,” Zost said. “At the Home and Garden Show, we tell the public info about out spring show; where it is, the different plants we’ll have and even a general history about the club. It’s a good way for us to mingle with the general public.”

Horticulture senior and club member Ashley Whalen said the annual Spring Show and Plant Sale makes it possible for the Horticulture Club to function.

“The plant sale brings in enough to go on club field trips throughout the school year and even provide scholarships,” Whalen said. “Every year, the show is amazing. This year will be no exception.”

Horticulture junior Jake Emling said the club uses the Home and Garden Show to not only advertise the spring show, but also to provide answers to the public about what the club does and how it operates within the community.

“If people have any basic plant questions, we’re here to provide the answers,” Emling said. “Being in the club helps reinforce the things we learn in class. We get to put the material to use and have done a lot of volunteer work as well.”

This will be the 22nd year the Horticulture Club hosts its Spring Show and Plant Sale. This year’s theme is Alice in Flower Land.

Zost also said the plant sale will be the first chance of the year for garden enthusiasts to purchase any plant material and hopes this will further the club’s profits.

“This is a great opportunity for us to do a lot of marketing,” Zost said. “It’s one of the first opportunities people have to buy plants before any big commercial nurseries can get up and running.”

Zost said he hopes the Spring Show and Plant Sale will be not only a financial success, but also will bring in spectators. He said the club works hard every year to bring the public a truly magical show.

“We’re hoping the theme this year will spark some creativity among the members,” Zost said. “It will be an eye-catching experience for those that come to see what we’ve accomplished.”

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