Engaging college students at UW Botany Greenhouse

On a chilly Thursday evening at the University of Washington Botany Greenhouse, I paid a visit to check out an event that some friends told me about as The Botany Club (at UW) organized a meeting that invited anyone to bring an empty glass container to be planted up with miniature plants from the greenhouse.

While I've been quite out of the loop with the Botany Greenhouse and indoor plants in general (minus the few houseplants in my room that are surviving well with neglect), it's still a treat to visit and support my colleagues in these kinds of endeavors as it's always so encouraging to see young students take an interest in growing plants.



I came kind of late (damn Filipino stereotype, I swear...ugh), but I was delighted to see a line-up of students with their friends, significant others and family holding their own glass containers waiting for a scoop of potting mix, their choice of plants materials ranging from tiny sellaginellas (spike mosses), miniature African violets, and various little ferns and clippings of plants that will fit in their little greenhouse and, finally, a thorough misting to complete their own little garden they can keep on their desk and/or windowsill of their small apartment or dorm room.

It was a perfect idea to engage people with plants FOR FREE!! It was a great way to reuse an old glass jar or container that's probably lying around and the extra little bits of plants from the Botany Greenhouse were actually put to use rather than being just chucked to the compost bin and it really is a way for students to really have some sort of plant life in their busy day-to-day lives. They had a great assembly line going spearheaded by my friends, Terry Huang and Jeff Benca who are both biology students and uber plant geeks that regularly volunteer at the greenhouse.



It was great to see that they had a pretty good turn out and people seemed genuinely interested and even excited about getting something for free that was unique, creative, and something they could call their own to care for and nurture. They got full instructions on how to care of their terrarium and no one really worried about them dying and the handful that did actually realized that it didn't really matter; it didn't cost them a thing!

I think it's simple things like this event is what we need more of. It brings a community (big or small) together and it gets them talking and everyone is there to learn. It's one of those initial hooks to get the younger generation to start thinking about plants.


Oh, and probably the most unique composition was this little sci-fi vignette with an X-Files theme!

It's A MIRACLE! a fruity one...

The so-called "Miracle Fruit" (Synsepalum dulcificum) is native to Africa. When eaten, sour foods become irresistably sweet and delectable. Don't believe me? Drats! If only someone were here and a lemon was available!

The Ethereal Blue Amaryllis

When I was a sophomore during my undergrad, I volunteered at the UW Botany Greenhouse. This place was my destination in between classes, during breaks and I might have skipped a lecture or two just so I could putter around and be surrounded by the tremendous collection of beautiful plants from around the world. From the arid desert house, the cool temperate rain forest and the tropical rooms, oh, of course, the research rooms were always filled with interesting projects and experiments.

One of my projects was my acquisition of seed from a rare and endangered plant. Dubbed as the "blue amaryllis", Worseleya procera (often and formerly referred to as W. rayneri) captivated me. After seeing these photos on a website, I learned what I could about these magnificent plants and when an opportunity to obtain seed from New Zealand presented itself. I jumped at the chance to grow this beauty.








Almost salivating and heart-stopping, isn't it??

I asked if I could use the greenhouse to sow the 6 seeds I acquired and tried various treatments and growing media based on the literature that was available at the time. Germination turned out to be a piece of cake:



Growing the plants on, however, was the challenge as reports always stressed specific cultural requirements and high losses following germination. The key to preserving any rare and endangered species is to attempt to recreate it's natural habitat. The "Empress of Brazil", as this bulb is often known, is found growing on full exposed, steep, rocky granite slopes of the Organ Mountains on the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil.

We carefully babied the young seedlings and potted them up gradually.






Since I graduated, I feel kind of bad leaving these guys behind for the greenhouse staff to take care of, but the ideal conditions and occasional attention have resulted in plants I simply couldn't believe.




This plant could be on the verge of blooming. Boy, will I go ballistic when they do!!!!