Week 6

Monday morning the three interns started off our day by manure mulching around the ostrich and giraffe exhibits. We were later joined by the education intern for the edible garden, Anna. At 10am we got the cart off grounds and went on to a new project. We went out and picked up sticks around the frog pond, down by the lily pond, and gates ajar. One of the big willow trees uprooted in the storms over the weekend so this tree will have to be removed by forestry. The willow is currently blocking part of the path around the frog pond but nothing is in the street. We put the sticks that we had picked up near the willow. For the last 10 minutes of the day, we emptied out the green mule and took the soil out of a pellet which had cloth on the back and bottom and had been used as a planter previously.

Tuesday morning I started off by weeding in a planting near the bison. Then, I went to help with mowing in the lion and tiger exhibits. I used the leaf blower and blew the leaves toward the middle of the exhibit so that the riding lawnmower could mow over the leaves. Unfortunately, the riding lawnmower broke down shortly after we had started. Then, I pulled weeds around the zebra and kudu exhibit where manure mulch was laid a few weeks ago. After that, I went to the picnic area on zoo grounds and picked up the larger sticks so that when the area was to be mowed on Wednesday there were not any issues. In the afternoon, I went with the other two interns and picked up branches in the palm and wolf lot so that we would not have any issues when mowing on Wednesday. Finally, we weeded up front around the pine trees.

Wednesday morning the interns mowed. Kerrick and I mowed Como town. Then, we met Amanda and one of the indoor interns, Joe, in the front of the visitor center to help with mowing and blow off the sidewalk. After break, we mowed the wolf lot, finished up out front, and went down to the lily pond to mow. Since it was very hot and humid, our supervisor Mindy told us to go sit in the air conditioning and read some horticulture magazines in the afternoon. I read the May 2013 volume of the magazine The Scoop. I read an article about Sustainable Food Systems and about the new Certificate in Sustainable Food Systems at Dakota County Technical College. More information about the certificate can be found at http://www.dctc.edu/academics/programs-majors/design/landscape-horticulture/sustainable-food-systems-certificate/. I also read an article about taking a sustainable approach to landscape design by looking to take portions off the lawn off life support because lawns require a lot of water which is difficult when facing drought. Suggestions included confining high maintenance lawn to areas where it aesthetically highlights a residence and has a practical function, converting turf to drought tolerant/low mow grasses such as fescue, and replacing turf with woodland plants and mulch in shade conditions to make the best use of limited sunlight while maximizing water retention. The larger the lawn the more water it needs so having smaller lawns and more plantings is more efficient for water use. I also read a short excerpt about permeable pavers which are a best management practice. The two other articles I read in the January 2013 and April 2013 volumes of The Scoop talked about Bachman's Trials Demonstration Garden in Farmington, MN in which plant are only watered in the first season with no water after the initial season and never any pest control and an article about the trials for All American Selections at the West Central Research and Outreach Center at the University of Minnesota's Morris Campus.

Thursday morning Amanda and I went into the Japanese Garden with Adam and helped him mow. Then, we went and helped Kerrick to finish mowing the service drive. Finally, we mowed an areas in the tortoise and bird yards that had been missed and touched up around the trees and picnic tables in the picnic area on zoo grounds before Como opened at 10am. After break, the interns went out to fix the bamboo fencing around gorilla forest. We also added lava rocks which are very light but can easily scratch you so we used gloves when picking them up. The lava rocks were placed in the gaps between the permanent fencing and the temporary bamboo fencing because the managers were afraid that little kids might try to go through these small gaps. After that, we weeded around the Diervilla shrubs that are in a bed near the bison exhibit and weeded around the Spiraea shrubs in the beds behind the African Hoofstock Building. After our break in the afternoon, we went down to the historic lily pond which was drained after the past weekend storm and swept out about half of it in order to remove the debris before the pond is filled again.

Friday morning the three interns started off our day by picking up some stick piles in the bird yard and tortoise yard. We then fixed the gorilla fencing in the morning and added more fencing where it had been missed in the afternoon. Then, we weeded by the pine trees near the frog pond. We ended the day by finishing sweeping out the historic lily pond which was filled after we finished and picking up the debris piles in the enchanted butterfly garden.

The plant of the week is Diervilla sessilifolia. Southern Bush-honeysuckle is the common name. The leaves are opposite, ovate-lanceolate, 2-6" long, half as wide, and sharply serrate. New foliage has a bronze-purple cast changing to dark green, sometimes lustrous. Buds are often superposed, sessile, and have about 5 pairs of exposed scales. The stem is rounded, brownish, with 4 crisp-puberulent ridges from the nodes. Diervilla sessilifolia is a low growing, suckering deciduous shrub that grows 3-5' high and 3-5' wide or greater spreading. The flowers are sulfur yellow, 1/2" long, and flower June-July into August. The bushes at Como are currently in bloom. Flowers do not carry any fragrance. This is an extremely tough plant that makes a good filler and is a good choice for rough cuts and fills, banks, and perhaps even planters or containers in outside areas. Foliage is not affected by diseases or insects Full sun is preferred by Diervilla but it can withstand shade. In order to propagate, Diervilla can be readily rooted from cuttings. Diervilla is licensed to Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, MN. (Information from Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael A. Dirr)