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‘Petal’ to the Metal at Wheeling Park High School

By JOSELYN KING 3 min read

WPHS Greenhouse Opens May 2

By JOSELYN KING

Staff Writer

WHEELING - Spring is in bloom at Wheeling Park High School, and so are the geraniums, petunias and impatiens.

Also growing in the plant world these days is demand for flower products and a shortage of supply, with offshoot higher prices resulting, according to WPHS teacher Don Headley.

The school's greenhouse will open for its annual sale beginning at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 2. The greenhouse will be open weekdays during its first week from 3-6 p.m. each day. On the second week as plant inventory decreases, the hours shorten to 3-5 p.m. The sale will continue as long as there are flowers to sell.

The smallest 4 ½-inch pots will be priced at $2.50 each, with healthy and brightly colored hanging baskets selling at $17 a piece.

Headley has overseen the school's greenhouse for 14 years. The annual sale of flora grown there provides the seed money for the school to buy such items as soil, pots and fertilizer for the following year, he explained.

Headley orders supplies a year in advance, and he said this year he was especially glad he did. Growers are seeing challenges as they seek to purchase supplies.

"A bag of dirt is costing $15 now, and we have to order 300 bags," he said.

The pots in which the plants are placed are in high demand right now, and WPHS has been forced to purchase more expensive ones for growing, Headley continued. WPHS has been able to get what it needs, and he credited the school's good relationships with suppliers for making that happen.

"I don't know what's going to happen next year," Headley said. "The people I feel sorry for are the businesses who do this for a living each day."

Headley's main job at the school is teaching auto-body repair, and over the years he has had one class of students focusing on plants and the greenhouse.He got some added help this year as WPHS added agri-business classes to its career and technical education program.

Devann Fox teaches five agriculture-related classes during the day as part of the simulated workplace programs at the school.

It used to be those seeking agriculture agriculture education wanted jobs in farming, but today the information learned goes even further, she explained.

Students with an agriculture background can go on to careers as veterinarians, loggers, farm mechanics and soil scientists, she said.

"Ten percent of jobs in the U.S. are agriculture-related," she explained.

A total of about 60 students were involved in the five agricultural classes during its first year, and "we're building on that," Fox said.

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