Horticultural Services
Opportunities abound for the students of Berry's Horticultural Services, which is comprised of four student work teams and three staff supervisors, providing excellent opportunities in student work and community service. All students are cross-trained, gaining meaningful work experience and providing essential labor in the unit. The facilities of Horticultural Services include a 42' x 96' Dutch Venlo greenhouse with a 21' x 36' attached headhouse, a 28' x 48' Quonset greenhouse, and a 28' x 36' Quonset shade house.
Horticultural Services produces all the herbaceous plant material that is planted on campus, and works closely with Berry's Grounds Crew to provide and maintain blooming pots, hanging baskets, and flower beds for campus beautification. Horticultural Services provides plant material for Animal Science and Biology laboratory use, in support of instruction received in the classroom, as well as plant decorations for Berry events. A new addition to our facility is the outdoor plant nursery, where plants can be acclimated to heat and sun before being used on campus.
The student teams of Horticultural Services hold approximately six plant sales per year. In October, the well-attended Fall Plant Sale is held, featuring pansies, snapdragons, and chrysanthemums. In November, poinsettias and other winter plants are sold, and February hosts the Valentine's Day Sale, when blooming gift plants are sold. In March, a sale for perennials and herbs is held, and in April, students hold the Spring Bedding Plant and Fern Sale. A yearly clearance sale in May is also held. As students graduate and leave Berry employment, supervisors are always hiring new students to fill team positions. All Berry students seeking employment are encouraged to apply, and those with farming background make particularly strong candidates.
Horticultural Services are open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and the gardens are open the same hours as the campus (daylight to twilight). Visitors are welcomed.
The Supervisor for the Berry Horticultural Services is Ms. Andrea Jones. To contact Horticultural Services or the Supervisor please call 706-238-7454.