Just Plant It

Just Plant It is a creative, hands-on session run by Austin Parks and Recreation at the Delores Duffie Recreation Center on Tuesday, September 1. The whole thing is built around a 3D-printed designer shoe pot: you spend the session painting and customizing yours with paints and fabrics, then add a plant of your choice to turn it into a functional planter you take home and grow. It's a one-hour workshop, so you'll walk in and walk out with a finished piece.

The venue itself has a bit of history to it. The center sits on the old Bertram-Huppertz place, which Rudolph Bertram acquired in 1875; the older part of the building was once the home of the local store owner, and 17 acres were sold to the City of Austin after his son-in-law, Charles Huppertz, died. An after-school playground and center program started there in 1929, and the Parks and Recreation Department spent the 1930s developing the land into a full park, adding tennis courts, a picnic area, a bandstand, and a baseball field. In 2019, the center's Rosewood Neighborhood Park picked up the Lone Star Legacy Park Award from the Texas Recreation & Park Society.

It's a straightforward evening: you get to customize your own 3D-printed shoe pot with paints and fabrics, pick a plant to go inside, and head home with a planter you actually made. The session runs from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM at the Delores Duffie Recreation Center, 1182 North Pleasant Valley Rd, Austin, TX 78702, and tickets are $20.