LPOHS annual sale blooms with spring
(Photo by MARY MALONE) Lake Pend Oreille High School’s annual flower sale starts Monday, and this year there is an addition of plant varieties and garden art for sale as well, as some of the students are raising funds for a trip to New York and Washington, D.C., in 2020.
SANDPOINT — Spring is here and Mother’s Day is just around the corner, which means it is time for Lake Pend Oreille High School’s annual flower sale.
The baskets of petunias are blooming and hanging in the school’s greenhouse, all ready for when the sale begins on Monday. The traditional baskets are not the only items available, however, as they are mixing it up this year.
“This year we have all kinds of bedding plants, which we have never done before,” said LPOHS teacher Randy Wilhelm.
There are tomatoes, as well as a variety of annuals and perennials. Fairy garden houses, made by local artist and long-time LPOHS volunteer Leata Judd, will be available for purchase as well.
All of the funds raised will go toward a trip to New York and Washington, D.C., in June 2020.
Six to eight students will go on the trip with Wilhelm next year, where the said hey will have the opportunity to go to a Broadway play, visit the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Smithsonian, the White House — all the “hot spots.”
Wilhelm said he thinks the trip will be a life-changing experience for the students.
“Just to get out, see places and experience things that you haven’t had the opportunity to is worth it,” Wilhelm said. “I think it will be a lot of fun.”
The group has been working hard to raise the money for the trip, as they need to raise about $16,000. By the end of the flower sale, Wilhelm said he is hoping they will be about half way to their goal. Future endeavors include a Halloween haunted house behind the Hoot Owl Cafe in the fall. Wilhelm was given an old trailer house, which he is converting into the haunted house.
In addition to the plants and garden art, Wilhelm said he and the students are selling chocolate bars by the box. Each box has 60 candy bars for $60. The sale is aimed at businesses, which can then sell the bars individually. The money raised through the candy sale is also going toward the trip.
Flowers and other items for sale can be purchased during school hours on weekdays, and Wilhelm said they will be there on the weekend as well between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at LPOHS, 1005 N. Boyer Ave., Sandpoint.
The flower baskets are $25, and the bedding plants range from $2-$5.
Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.