The 2024 annual Indiana Flower and Patio Show will remain open at the Indiana State Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day through March 17. According to Zachary Rife, member of the Gardening Together Club and junior, the show generally is a good way to introduce people to gardening. 

Rife said, “(However), to be honest, it’s more like they just have some bulbs that you can go and get there.”

Nina Price, sponsor of the Gardening Together Club, said she agreed with Rife and said the show fulfills its mission, even if it wasn’t specifically tailored to gardening.

“Anything that’s going to encourage people to be outdoors, support the environment and give opportunities for pollinators to do their work, important work, is great,” Price said. “This is the perfect time of year to start gardening because you can start seeds indoors and then in just a few weeks, you can start gardening (and start) planting those plants outside.”

Price said she started gardening for the environmental benefits.

Price said, “I think it’s good for the environment for pollinators to have flowers. It’s good ecologically for us to be growing our own food and also it’s kind of just exciting. As a teacher, I have my summers off, and so I fortunately have the time it takes to tend to a garden and grow the food and feed my family with it. We are giving bees and other pollinators a place to live because we’re giving them flowers. We also don’t use pesticides, so by gardening organically, I’m also helping wildlife by making sure that I’m taking less food that might have been produced in commercial manners and using what is just grown in my house.”

Rife said he agreed with Price and said there are a plethora of benefits gardening offers. 

“I’d say the biggest benefit of gardening for the world in general is you can go and donate food that you (grow),” Rife said. “It helps with your soil. Like tomatoes, they put nutrients into the soil. Also, the plants put oxygen back into the air and they take out the carbon dioxide that’s harmful to the environment.”

On the other hand, Aleeza Price, co-president of the Gardening Together Club and sophomore, said she started gardening simply because she loved nature. 

Aleeza said, “I really enjoy learning about the things around me and I come from a family where my parents garden (and) we’ve always had a garden. We’ve always had indoor plants too. And so like when COVID hit and we had to quarantine, I got really into learning about plants and why certain plants look those ways. I’ve also always helped out in the outdoor garden (by) watering plants and stuff like that.”

Aleeza, who is Mrs. Price’s daughter, said she agreed with her mother and Rife that gardening has several benefits. 

“You get to grow your own food and you get to watch it grow, which is really exciting,” Aleeza said. “It’s also good for your mental health and your physical health, and I think it’s just interesting to learn about it. I think everyone can get a better understanding of what they’re putting in their bodies, which is important.”

Aleeza said gardening is scarce among high schoolers and encouraging more people to garden would be beneficial. 

“I think that it would be cool and good if more people garden,” Aleeza said. “I think that it’s good for the environment and your health and so I think that that could be something that could be addressed.”

Rife said gardening is also a great way to build community.

“You (can) go to seed swaps and talk to other gardeners and expand your garden views and move on throughout gardening and learn from others and make friends with them and continue learning through it,” Rife said. “It would be good for the future because it goes and shows people how to get their hands dirty and work toward an end goal.”

Aleeza said it was important for beginners to not be afraid to make mistakes when gardening. 

“Just go for it,” Aleeza said. “It’s okay to make mistakes and it’s okay to learn along the way. There are so many different resources to help you get gardening. Even at the public library, you can get seeds for free from the seed library and so as long as you just have an interest and you have a want to do it, you can go for it and learn along the way.”

Mrs. Price said a resource to help beginners start gardening was the Gardening Together Club. 

Mrs. Price said. “The club started just two years ago. Everyone in the club is learning and learning from each other. Carmel High School has a greenhouse, so we use the greenhouse to grow food (and) grow plants. The club has done many environmental-based projects like trying to promote the planting of native species. So, it’s a great way to learn from friends. There are definitely some club members who are more experts but many have never gardened before.”

Tickets for the Indiana Flower and Patio Show are available online or at the gate.