In December 1997, the programs that use MSU's campus greenhouses moved into their first new home in 100 years.

Located behind Dorman Hall, the facility includes 11,000 square feet of greenhouse space, plus a 6,000 square-foot head house with office, workshop, and classroom space.

"The four greenhouses are each divided into three sections, so we can create 12 different environments," said Richard Harkess, associate professor of plant and soil sciences. "The greenhouses are all equipped with a computer system that regulates shade and keeps temperatures constant."

The Dorman Hall greenhouse complex is a teaching facility and is used by students in the Plant and Soil Sciences Department, including those enrolled in the floriculture and ornamental horticulture programs.

Students in those programs learn the science and art of producing, distributing, marketing, and using flowers, flowering and foliage plants, and woody ornamental landscape plants. Graduates are prepared for careers that include greenhouse or nursery management, landscape management, technical product research, and sales.

Class projects fill each section of the greenhouses, creating in each a tapestry of color and texture. Several of the sections contain bedding plants such as pansies, but exotic plants, including orchids, occupy others.

The floriculture and ornamental horticulture students hold three plant sales each year—the annual Homecoming corsage sale, a fall plant sale, and a spring plant sale.

"All the sales help students prepare for the business world, but the corsage sale is especially useful in giving them a chance to learn more about the techniques used in the flower shop industry," Harkess said.

The greenhouse sales help cover expenses for the MSU horticulture team to attend regional and national competitions, where they have compiled an impressive record. The team has captured first place honors in the American Society for Horticultural Science Collegiate Student Competition six of the past seven years.