Week 2

Monday was Memorial Day so the interns had off.

Tuesday I worked with intern Amanda. She is very nice and we make a great team. Before the zoo opened, Amanda and I laid down manure mulch in the bird exhibit. We did not quite finish this but could had to remove the cart from zoo grounds once the zoo became open to the public. Then, we went into the greenhouse and helped Paul out by removing flowers and flower buds from petunias because the plants were small and the flowers attract thrips which are a problem in the greenhouse and are sprayed for weekly. After that, we went back outside and did some weeding around the exhibits. Finally, we moved some lilies from one greenhouse to another.

Wednesday the three interns (Amanda, Kerrick, and me) mowed using push mowers. We mowed on zoo grounds and in Como town which is the amusement park in the zoo. All of this had to be done before the zoo opened at 10am. Then, we mowed out in front of the zoo and down by the lily pond. In front of the zoo and in parts of the park we are responsible for mowing while in other parts the city is responsible. Finally, we mowed along the service drive.

Thursday I went with Scott in the morning and planted annuals in the pots in front of the building. Then, we laid down some manure mulch along the double sidewalk, added fertilizer, and planted annuals. In the afternoon, we had a staff meeting for the Horticulture department in which all of the staff update everyone else on what they are working on. Today, some of the staff talked about the APGA conference which they attended last week. APGA stands for the American Public Gardens Association. They talked about the gardens that they toured and some of the lectures which they attended. After the meeting, the interns went with Angie and Mindy to the flower beds near the gorilla forest in order to clean it up because there was a donor event for the gorilla forest which will be opening in June.

Friday Amanda and I planted annuals by the double sidewalk in the front of the building as can be seen in the image below. Some of the flowers planted include purple petunias, orange impatiens, and pink double petunias. We planted the flowers in blocks because visitors will be voting on their favorite flowers. Then, Amanda, Kerrick, Scott, and I finished up the rest of the planting on gates ajar and planted some annuals in the beds around gates ajar. Finally, we picked up some debris that the volunteers had left behind, raked up the clumps of grass that had been left behind when we mowed the other day by the lily pond, and lifted up the footprints by the double sidewalk.

The plant of the week is Impatiens. In Minnesota, Impatiens are planted as an annual plant because they are hardy only to zones 10 and 11 and Minnesota is zones 3a-5a. They are commonly used as bedding plants in the summer or container gardening. Impatiens do best in partial sun and like moisture (moist, but not too wet). They can grow between 6 and 30 inches tall. (Information found on Farmer's Almanac website)

Week 1

This was my first week on the job. I started on Monday. Friday, I took the day off because I had to go home for rehearsal dinner for my big brother's wedding. First, I will introduce you to my boss and fellow coworkers. My boss is Mindy and the other horticulture staff. My fellow interns are Amanda a global studies major and Kerrick an environmental science major. There is also one other intern Anna who is a Horticulture major in River Falls, WI who is helping out with education as well as with the Horticulture department. Every morning we have a quick staff meeting and the interns are assigned to a staff member.

On my first day, I worked with Scott and Kerrick on the preparing gates ajar for planting down by Como Lake. First, we cleared the debris of the dead plants from last year and weeded in the planting and the garden around the planting. Then, we added fresh mud to the wall in order to prepare it for planting the next day.

On day 2, Scott, Kerrick, Amanda, and I finished putting mud on the wall and started planting Echiveria on the wall to create the design and soften the edges of the wall. In order to plant the Echeveria, we had to widdle down the plants then stick them into the wall by making a small hole. Once in the wall, the Echeveria will root itself.

Day 3 Scott, Kerrick, Amanda, and I continued planting Echeveria for the symbols and softening the edges of the wall and started planting Alternanthera on the rest of the wall using a dibble to make the holes to create some color contrast.

Day 4 Scott, Kerrick, Amanda, and I continued with planting the symbols with Echeveria and then Alternanthera around the symbols.

The above picture is the progress of the wall near the end of day 4. The symbols on the pillars represent hope, faith, and charity. Then, there are wheels on each wall representing the wheels of life. The symbols come from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem and from a section in Corinthians.

The plant of the week is Alternanathera Joseph's Coat. Alternanthera is a stoloniferous plant sometimes used as a ground cover. It comes in a variety of different colors. The leaves are simple and verticillate. In some areas, Alternanathera is considered a noxious weed. The zone depends upon the variety because there are over 80 species in the genus. (Information obtained from Wikipedia).