The Student Center’s Nest lounge hosted a flower-planting event on March 14 where students were given a pot to decorate and seeds to plant.

The event, which lasted from noon to 2 p.m., was put on by Kent Student Center Programming in order to celebrate National Flower Planting Day, according to sophomore Sebastian Adames-Rodriguez, who was working the event.

Adames-Rodriguez said that they were expecting 20 people at the event: a goal that was met and surpassed within the first hour. The event was so popular that there weren’t enough pots to go around for everyone who wanted to participate.

“This one says ‘easy to grow,’ so I might do that one.” said one student, reading from the back of a packet of flower seeds.

Flower options ranged from morning glories to salvias and asters to zinnias, but the number of ways students painted their pots was limitless.

Some pots were simple and monochromatic, some had bold geometric designs, some were sparkly and bright, and some had words or phrases. One student even showed her support for Kent State with a blue pot and a gold heart.

Julie Jimenez, a senior in integrative studies, colored her pot in a patchwork of earth tones and the words “come fly with me” next to a skillfully painted fly. Jimenez commented on how she’s been into puns lately as she showed her work to other students at the table.

“I was eating a burrito here,” Jimenez said as she described how she happened to find her way to the event. Jimenez wasn’t the only student to accidentally participate. Almost everyone who entered The Nest ended up designing a pot.

Kylie Spillane, a junior visual communication design major saw a poster for the event in The Nest and was one of the first students to stop in; she painted her pot a shiny metallic blue similar to the color of her hair.

Spillane, whose roommate has a large collection of plants in their dorm, described getting to keep the pot and the seeds for free as “an added surprise.”

Jimenez appreciated the event, set less than a week before the spring equinox, and how planting flowers helps people “remain positive” despite Ohio’s unpredictable seasons.

“It’s nice to remind people that spring is coming.” said Jimenez.

Ariel is the Academics and science reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].