Floral design students create arrangements, products all year
A symbol of homecoming spirit, a mini-mum lays on the table. Floral design students worked on the project for a week, and had the option to create a mini- or full-sized mum. “We try to cover most holidays and school events.” teacher Jordan Loving said. “We don’t always get to cover all of them because we still need to teach all the necessities.”
October 19, 2020
COVID-19 continues to change the way students learn and the way teachers teach. With hands-on classes, like floral design, instructors like Jordan Loving must find a way to deliver the same experience to students this year by doing the usual projects and labs — but with a virtual twist.
Loving has continued to assign and teach projects the way she has in years past, while still following precautions, including an adjustment to virtual teaching for two weeks in quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure.
“Teaching virtually, we are going to have to focus on teaching well,” Loving said. “Students are both in the classroom and online, so we need to make sure that both sets of students can see the proper techniques.”
In this hybrid environment, getting materials and giving instructions can be a challenge.
“This year requires more preparation,” Loving said. “We are going to have to spend a little more time assembling packets. Right now, we have homecoming mum packs for students that aren’t able to be on campus right now.”
Despite these COVID-19 challenges, floral design students are still gaining exposure to the work field.
“Floral is a really chill class and it’s a good creative outlet,” advanced floral design student and junior Christi Norris said. “All of our projects are really fun because they are student-run, so we can be in charge of our own projects.”
Many students take floral design as a way to achieve a fine art credit, but then realize that they would be interested in doing something involving the horticulture industry.
“Our specialty is working in the horticulture industry, whether that be floral design, working in a greenhouse, or other many different horticulture careers,” Loving said. “We want to make marketable products and things that people would want to purchase. We want to be able to make something of quality and having variety is really important for career success.”
Throughout the year, the students get to make arrangements or projects relating to school events or holidays, just like florists would according to the time of the year’s events.
“We just finished homecoming mums,” Norris said. “I’m not from Texas, so the class introduced me to this tradition, which is really cool.”
Next, students are working on a Halloween arrangement, which is their first project with actual flowers, so they can use the techniques they learned in the first quarter.
“I am excited to do this next project,” sophomore Sydney Sukenik said. “It’s always cool when we get to do a lab because we are doing this at school, and there’s a product we get out of it.”
