UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Visitors can take a gardening tour around the world without leaving Pennsylvania's borders at Penn State's 87th annual Horticulture Show. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, in the Ag Arena on the University Park campus.

The show, sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences' student Horticulture Club, focuses on "Landscapes of the World: Uniting People Through Horticulture." Many of the displays feature themed gardens designed to showcase how different nations approach landscape gardening.

The themed gardens will include a Japanese meditative garden, an American vegetable and landscape garden, an Australian garden, a Mexican tropical garden, an English formal garden and an English children's garden, which features a hedge maze.

"The Horticulture Show is really a year-round process," says Mike Wimmer, 22, a senior from Quakertown majoring in landscape contracting and one of four co-managers of the show. "We start planning and calling for donations for next year's show right after the current show closes."

The Horticulture Show also features a farmer's market, where visitors can buy all types of vegetables, fruits, pumpkins and cider. Those interested in solving a gardening problem can stop by the Ask the Experts table, which is staffed throughout the show.

The Horticulture Show is planned, designed and constructed by students in the Horticulture Club. More than 60 students participate in the event each year.

Plants used at the exhibit will be on sale during the show. Buyers can place reserve tags on the plants and pick up their purchases after 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10. There also will be more than 700 mums on sale. The plants that are not purchased are used by Penn State's Office of Physical Plant in landscape plantings around the campus.

The show features more than 200 woody ornamental shrubs and trees, and from 50 to 100 different varieties of perennials.

"Proceeds from the show go toward operating the Hort Club," says Dan Stearns, associate professor of landscape contracting. "The club uses the funds to sponsor educational trips, scholarships, social activities and charitable donations."

Stearns estimates that from 5,000 to 8,000 people visit the event each year. The event is timed to open on the same weekend as Penn State's second home football game, which features Penn State versus Louisiana Tech. "Attendance to our event varies, depending on the football game," Stearns says. "If the game is one-sided, we get a few more visitors. If it's a close game, we'll get a few less."

Admission to the show is free. The Agricultural Arena is located on Park Avenue across from Beaver Stadium on the University Park campus.

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EDITORS: To contact Dan Stearns, please call 814-863-6167.

Contacts: John Wall jtw3@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax