Flowers, trees, pumpkins and houseplants lined the winding brick walkways of Governors Scott Courtyard this weekend for horticulture honors society Pi Alpha Xi’s annual fall plant sale.

Boasting over 200 species of plants, the sale is a 41-year tradition and the largest annual plant sale on NC State’s campus, said Taylor Hatfield, a graduate studying horticulture science and president of PAX.

“People have been coming for the last 30 years,” Hatfield said. “They don’t see an email from us because we’re a little behind, and they’re like, ‘What’s happening? The plant sale has to occur.’”

The sale is a fundraiser for horticulture-related scholarships, grants and organizations. This year, PAX also held a plant raffle with a special goal: establishing a memorial scholarship in honor of Will Hembree, an NC State horticulture alum who died last summer.

“He’s helped out with the plant sale in the past,” said Calyssa Stevenson, a graduate studying horticulture science and vice president of specialty plants in PAX. “People all over within the department know him. He was a very important member of the horticulture society.”

To establish the scholarship, PAX must raise $25,000. 

“That $25,000 mark is going to be a working goal probably for several more years,” Hatfield said. “But as the president, I feel really excited, really fortunate to be involved with this really big new effort for PAX. It’s going to be hopefully a way that students can come get their education in horticulture at an affordable rate.”

Hatfield said the club received an outpouring of over 80 species of plant donations to support the scholarship fundraiser, which shows how beloved Hembree was to the horticulture community.

“We have some plants in this raffle available that won’t be available to the public again for more than two years,” Hatfield said. “So really rare varieties.”

The plants are donated from a myriad of local nurseries — some were grown at NC State in the Fox Science Teaching Laboratory — and are a great value, Hatfield said.

“We are sourcing our plants from really reliable nurseries that the industry and academia level, this is where they get their plants,” Hatfield said. “So they’ve been really well cared for. Whereas a lot of box stores, they’ve been sitting in a truck for a week straight, frozen — they’re not in the best state sometimes. So really high quality plants for sale here, also at incredibly low prices comparable to box stores, which are already low.”

Hatfield said there’s plenty of horticulture students who volunteer at the sale and can offer knowledge on plants.

“It’s a good opportunity to talk to experts in their fields,” Hatfield said. “It’s been really fun talking to somebody who’s like 19, 20 years old, and they can just tell you everything about your landscaping, what would work there.”

Meredith Carlton, a first-year studying horticulture and a member of the horticulture club, said her favorite part about volunteering at the plant sale is the people she interacts with.

“It’s a really good community,” Carlton said. “It’s just fun to be here.”

Stevenson said the atmosphere at the plant sale is the best part.

“I just love horticulture, the people, working with the nurseries — it’s just a very fun environment and a happy environment,” Stevenson said. “Everyone’s fun to work with.”

PAX’s next plant sale will take place in the spring. Follow its Instagram for updates.