By Isabella Darcy
Staff Writer
More zinnias, asters and sunflowers are growing at the College just in time for spring on account of a “Plantastic” evening event that occured on Tuesday, March 28 in the Brower Student Center. At the event, attendees planted flower seeds in pots that they decorated themselves.
The Healing Arts Club and College Union Board (CUB) Alt partnered to plan and host the event. The former is an organization that promotes mental health and wellness through the creation of art, and the latter is an organization that plans alternative programming.
“We wanted to come up with something creative that we haven’t done this year that people would want to come to,” sophomore communication studies major and CUB Alt Event Coordinator Maddie Mathews said.
The event was lively and populated from the moment it began, and before it was halfway through, every seat in the room was filled. Some attendees who could not find a seat gathered pots, seeds and markers, and did their potting and decorating on the floor.
What made the event so attractive, according to many attendees, was the opportunity to relieve stress and participate in a seasonally-appropriate activity.
“I felt like it was a good event to do in spring, and I wanted to go with a self-care vibe,” Mathews said.
A self-care activity was just what some attendees needed, especially during the month before finals.
“It’s the toughest part of the semester, and I needed a mental health day, so drawing and planting sounded like a lot of fun,” said freshman interactive multimedia major Jeffery Ernest.
Upon arrival, each attendee was provided with a white pot and flower seeds of their choice. Lavender seeds, zinnia seeds and many other types were up for grabs.
Before filling their pots with soil and planting flower seeds, attendees used colorful markers and butterfly trinkets to decorate their pots.
“I thought this was a cute idea, and it’s been a really good experience,” said freshman political science major Ruby Hong.
Some attendees were pleasantly surprised by the event.
“I came because my girlfriend wanted to come, but I’m having way more fun than I thought I was going to have,” said freshman computer science major Logan May.
May’s favorite part of the event was decorating a pot, and Ernest agreed.
“Yeah, mindlessly coloring, hanging out with people and running into some friends have definitely made this a great night,” said Ernest.
