Each spring, the SUNY Morrisville greenhouse comes to life, overflowing with vibrant blooms in all shades imaginable.
Students move with purpose — trimming, watering, transplanting and caring for flowers and plants in preparation for the college’s annual spring plant sale, a tradition that has become a favorite for the campus and local community.
This year’s sale will be held at the Spader Horticulture Complex, May 8-9, from noon-5 p.m.; May 10, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; May 15-16, from noon-5 p.m.; and May 17, from 8 a.m.-noon. It is open to the public.
Inside the greenhouse, seed trays nurtured from the beginning of the semester have transformed into flourishing petunias, begonias, sunflowers and more — thanks to the dedication and care of students in the college’s Greenhouse Production class.
At the center of it all is horticultural business management student Gareth March, who wears many hats this semester. As the instructional assistant for the Greenhouse Production class and current greenhouse manager, he’s also spearheading the college’s annual plant sale.
Under his direction, this year’s sale will be bursting with color and variety. Patrons can look forward to nearly 700 hanging baskets, 5,000 four-inch annuals, hundreds of perennials, Boston ferns, tropical plants, house plants, vegetable transplants and more.
“If you would have told me I would be doing this, I wouldn’t believe you,” said March, who lives in Greece, New York. “I was so shy and now I am in front of a class, running it.”
These days, that feels natural for March, as he moves through the greenhouse with quiet confidence, fine-tuning every detail and guiding students with steady focus as the sale approaches.
“His attention to detail, focus, work ethic and passion for the everything he does sets the tone for the class,” said Adam Olinski, assistant professor of horticulture, who leads the Greenhouse Production class. “His passion really stands out. You can see it in the way he cares for plants, in the way he teaches and in how he brings the best out of everyone around him. He’s the kind of student you don’t forget.”
March graduates in May, but his legacy is firmly planted in many ways. For the past few years, he has helped grow flowers and plants and decorate the commencement stage with them.
He traces his love for horticulture back to childhood summers in his grandmother’s garden. He started his own garden at home and continued to dive deeper into the world of horticulture as he got older.
“When it became time to look for college programs, SUNY Morrisville offered me the perfect balance of a program that encompassed everything I hoped to learn about during my time in college, while also being close enough to home that I could still work and visit my family,” March said.
His long-term plans shifted when he had the opportunity to teach.
“I’m leaving SUNY Morrisville strongly considering a career in horticultural education now,” March said. “Being able to be the instructional assistant for the Greenhouse Management and Greenhouse Production classes has given me a taste of what it’s like teaching. It has ignited something within me that makes me think that I’m not quite done with the whole ‘teaching’ thing just quite yet.”
His passion hasn’t gone unnoticed. March was selected as a semi-finalist for the American HortScholars program, which recognizes outstanding college students preparing to lead the future of the horticulture industry. He also received a Bartlett Tree Foundation grant.
That recognition reflects the depth of experience he’s gained through the horticulture program at Morrisville, which March said has exposed him to nearly every corner of the industry.
“The horticulture program at Morrisville has allowed me to learn about so many different aspects of the horticulture industry, from greenhouse growing and the production of annual crops, to landscape design and installation, and even the skills you need to start and run your own business.”
He took a variety of electives to broaden his knowledge in fields he was relatively unfamiliar with, such as arboriculture and tropical ecology.
For Natasha Kazarian, a horticulture business management bachelor’s degree student, the opportunity to explore different aspects of the field was transformative. She initially enrolled at SUNY Morrisville in the cannabis certificate program, but found her passion rooted elsewhere.
“I took a greenhouse management class in the fall and that switched my entire thought process,” Kazarian said. “Now I want to work in a greenhouse.”
Meanwhile, March is continuing to build on his own experiences with an internship this summer as a horticulturist at Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park in Canandaigua. He’ll also continue working at VanPutte Gardens in Greece, where he serves in many roles, including landscape design apprentice and assisting the CEO & landscape finance manager.
“It's going to be a very busy summer for me but I'm looking forward to it immensely,” March said.
